PARKING IMPERATIVES CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

Parking policy in India: Getting the principles right

H ow can parking policy help to address the mobility crisis in our cities? But yes, it can and it is already
the key preferred strategy for reducing pollution and congestion globally. Parking policy is also included
in the transportation reforms in Indian cities and is specially mandated under the JNNURM programme.
Many Indian cities are in the process of designing this policy. This is an opportunity. But this also
demands deeper policy as well as public understanding of what parking policy is expected to do?

In the conventional planning process, the parking policy is expected to continuously satisfy the growing
demand for parking spaces as vehicle grow in numbers. But this wisdom is not accepted any more when
it comes to meeting the goals of sustainable mobility. There is a growing realization that the parking
policy has the potential to help address the mobility crisis in which personal vehicles are steadily edging
out public transport buses, cycle and walking, and occupying more road space for carrying much lesser
number of travel trips. Congested roads are causing unacceptable delays, fuel wastage and pollution.

With the help of parking policy it is possible to arrest and reverse these unsustainable trends. This can
work well in Indian cities where public transport, cycling and walking still carry more than half of all daily
commuting trips. Cars may be choking our cities. But a substantial part of daily commuting is by buses,
on foot and pedal. This is the strength that the Indian cities need to build on.

But this will be possible only if additional measures are taken to encourage people to shift from personal
modes to public transport and non-motorised transport and reduce their dependence on cars. Parking
management offers that opportunity as well as to reduce traffic chaos.

1. More reasons to rethink parking policy

Parking demand is insatiable, entails enormous cost and uncontrolled parking supply
encourages more car dependency: Cars are aggressively encroaching upon the scarce and
limited urban space that can have other and more important uses. Parking devours close to 8-10 per
cent of the urban land in Delhi; daily addition of cars creates additional demand for land bigger than
300 football fields. Can any city afford this? Is this sustainable? But it is possible to influence and
reduce parking demand with parking pricing, stringent enforcement, parking controls etc.

Roads and walkways under stress from unplanned on-street parking: Parking spaces are
created on road and off road. In the absence of proper parking management both create pressure
on the pedestrian space. Unplanned and on-road parking usurps the walkways. In some areas in
Delhi 45 per cent of the circulation area is under parking encroachment

Hidden subsidy to car owners: Use of valuable urban space is offered for parking either free or for
a pittance. This perpetrates hidden subsidy to car owners as the cost of using up scarce and
valuable urban space for parking are not recovered through proper pricing and taxes. There are other

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opportunity costs of parking spaces. The subsidy to the car will work out to be even higher if the
rental or the land cost of the parking space is considered. Increased investments in expensive
multistoried structured car parks in prime areas will further enhance the subsidy as the parking rates
are not expected to recover this cost. If pegged to the recovery of the capital cost of multi-level car
parks parking charges should be as much as Rs 39-40 per hour. But the MCD parking charges in
Delhi is only Rs 10 per hour.

Inequitous use of land: The pressure on urban space for parking has also raised concerns
regarding equity issues related to urban land-use. More land is allotted for one car slot while building
a multilevel parking structure than to a low cost housing scheme for poor people. A car needs about
23 sq m to be comfortably parked. But a very poor family in Delhi gets a plot of just 18-25 sq.m. Is
this acceptable? A city can never have enough land for parking and the same land will have other
and more important essential uses. Disproportionately high share of urban land is devoted to cater to
the parking needs for handful of people.

2. Emerging policies redefining the scope of parking policy

Indian policies have begun to set the terms to craft parking policy as a demand management tool.
Currently, while the national government defines the national guidelines for mobility policies including
parking policy, the local governments frame and implement parking strategies in Indian cities.

City level: The local policies in cities still largely hinge on the conventional approach of meeting the
ever growing parking demand by earmarking areas for parking, working out the licensing policy for
the parking contractors, laying down the rules for the management of both on-street and off-street
parking and the related traffic regulations. The development norms make provisions for the parking
standards and the building byelaws related to parking. Parking deficit is held responsible for chaotic
parking on street and it is considered that with more parking facilities like the multilevel parking
structures the problem can be solved. But this approach and understanding will require very careful
assessment and direction.

Small whiff of change in cities: There are however small nascent changes in a few cities where
new elements are being adopted. Most exemplary is Aizawl, capital of Mizoram where the owner of
any type of motor vehicle including two wheelers must have a garage within their own residential or
business premise or in some other place, or a garage hired from any other person, for parking the
vehicle (The Mizoram Gazette, Vol XL, Issue No. 52, February 2011). The prospective owner will
have obtain a certificate from the transport department to show as a proof. The draft parking policy of
Bangalore has included the travel demand management principles. Chennai and Pune have begun
to take steps to discipline and manage the on-street parking through proper demarcation etc. New
Delhi area has introduced variable parking rates; Kolkata has revised and rationalized parking rates
etc. The change is still minimal but has a direction.

National level: The National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) is the first attempt at the national level
to reorient the goal of parking policy. The NUTP has laid down some key principles:
Land is valuable in all urban areas. Parking places occupy a large part of such land. This
should be recognized in determining the principle of parking space.
Levy high parking fee that represents value of land occupied
This should be used as a means to make use of public transport and make it more
attractive. Graded parking fee should recover the cost of the land.
Public transport vehicles and non-motorised modes of transport should be given
preference in the parking space allocation. This along with easier access of work places
to and from such parking spaces can encourage the use of sustainable transport.
Park and ride facilities for bicycle users with convenient interchange are a useful
measure.

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Multilevel parking complexes should be made a mandatory requirement in city centres

that have several high-rise commercial complexes through public-private partnerships.
Encourage electronic metering so that is there is better realization of parking fees to
make the investments viable and also a better recovery of the cost.
In residential areas also, byelaws need changes to free the public carriageway from
parked vehicles impeding the smooth flow of traffic. Make provisions in the appropriate
legislation to prevent the use of right of way on road systems for parking purposes.

The NUTP also asks the state governments to award building byelaws in all million plus cities so that
adequate parking space is available for all residents, that the FAR laws are made more liberal and multi
level parking be made mandatory in cities. The JNNURM funding is tied to parking infrastructure. Thus, it
treats parking as an essential infrastructure that must service all buildings and ties public infrastructure
funding with it. If this is not linked with the rest of the principles it can only induce more parking demand
and car usage defeating the overall principles of NUTP. But JNNURM has also included parking policy in
the reform package for the transport sector. This makes reiteration of the NUTP principles essential
that have codified the travel demand management principles.

Court intervention: The Supreme Court of India has also mandated development of parking policy in the
cities like Delhi that it monitors for air pollution control. This has helped to establish the travel demand
management principles for the policy.
The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has recommended to the Supreme Court that
land is limited and there is a limit to the additional parking space that can be created in the city.
Therefore, the available parking space will have to be managed efficiently to meet the parking
demand. This will also require demand side management through a well thought out pricing policy to
control the demand for parking. The provision of parking for personal motorised vehicles cannot be
considered as a matter of public good. Individual user of personal vehicle should pay for the use of
the space for parking and user pay principle should be applied. Parking facilities underground,
surface, and multilevel parking are provided at an enormous cost. This uses up a lot of public
money and cheap/free lands. The full cost of providing parking in public places that includes the land
cost, capital cost, and the O&M costs should be recovered from the user of the parking.
Government should not subsidise this cost.

3. Well managed parking and parking restraints have many benefits

Public response to parking policy as a demand management tool is still very lukewarm because its
benefits for both car owners and non-car users as well as for city environment are not well understood.
Parking if managed well can also dampen the demand for parking and restrain car usage. These benefits
are now being explicitly identified in the ongoing policy making in cities as in Delhi by UTTIPEC. Public
support for this strategy can get stronger if people understand the benefits.

Benefits to the vehicle user -- reduces traffic chaos: Car users can have more reliable and
predictable advance information about availability of parking spaces that can reduce cruising time.
Efficient billing makes payment more transparent and accurate. If short term parking is managed well
then the chances of finding a space for quick errands improves and reduces waiting and cruising
time as well as fuel spent on cruising. This decreases traffic chaos due to indiscriminate on-street
parking. Smoother parking also reduces social tension, road rage and law and order incidences.
Many people have been injured over parking scuffle in Delhi.

Benefits to non-car user: Well managed parking will help to protect footpaths and allow barrier free
walking, frees up public spaces for cycle tracks, rickshaw parking, autoriskshaw-parking, play
grounds and also improves access to bus-stops. Improve safety of children, women and elderly
people. Well managed common parking can make it easier for emergency vehicles like ambulances,
fire trucks, police, etc. to reach all homes/ offices/ buildings. Removal of cars from the shopping
frontage improves visibility and access to shops for more customers, improves shopping experience,

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and increases throughput of customers. Walkable neighbourhood fosters mixed use, improves
overall environment, green areas and public recreational spaces.

Environmental Benefits: Paid and restricted but well managed parking can reduce car use/
dependency which can reduce air pollution and congestion in the city. Air pollution is already taking
heavy toll due to respiratory diseases like asthma, cardiac problems. Long term exposure to high air
pollution levels can lead to increased occurrence of cancers. Noise level lead to stress and diesease.
Global experience shows that when parking policy is designed as a travel demand management it
reduces car usage and therefore congestion, air emissions as well as fuel use. Boston froze the
parking requirements in the city at a level that is only 10 per cent higher than the parking requirement
level that existed in 1973. This helped Boston to control car usage and meet the federal clean air
standards. In New York very high parking fees and limited parking supply have lowered car
ownership far below the average rates in other US cities and reduced air pollution. Portland, Oregon
has set an overall cap of parking spaces downtown. This has increased public transport usage from
20-25 per cent in the 1970s to 48 per cent in mid 1990s.

4. Key elements of parking policy

i. Establish goals of the parking policy:

Cities are expected to develop parking policy as a travel demand management tool to reduce
pollution and dependency on personal vehicles, encourage use of public transport and non-
motorised transport and protect urban greens and commons from parking encroachment. Parking
policy should aim to reduce vehicle traffic (particularly urban-peak traffic) in order to reduce
congestion, accidents, pollution, etc

Parking policy must aim towards eliminating parking subsidies. When combined with priced parking,
limit on parking space and improved access through other modes of transport, parking strategies can
help to switch alternative modes of travel and restrain car usage in targeted areas.

Parking policy will have to be built around the transit oriented development design principles that
integrate parking for more effective multimodal integration through park and ride but gives priority to
public transport buses, non-motorised transport and walking and includes universal design guidelines
in the lay out plan.

Efficient management strategies for existing parking both on-street and off street, will be needed to
improve efficiency. This is needed as on-street parking can be controlled not eliminated. In India
Chennai, Pune, Delhi are among others who are trying to introduce measure for disciplining street
parking.

Shift towards common, priced and shared parking, optimize parking revenue, and mobility
management.

Integrate the parking needs of the public transport buses, non-motorised transport and freight
transport in a city.

ii. How to address parking requirements?

How much parking should a city provide? is the red herring question that confounds cities. Cities have
adopted parking standards in the building byelaws to guide provisioning of parking spaces in different
land uses and building types. There is no one common matrix for setting these norms. If Delhi specifies
requisite parking slots per 100 sqm, Kolkata and Pune per 75 sq meters, cities like Hyderabad may
specify as a percentage share of a built up area and so on.

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However, on the whole most Indian cities specify the minimum parking slots needed and it is possible to
build more than the minimum requirement. For instance, Delhi has adopted minimum parking
requirement to be provided in the buildings. For example the Delhi Master Plan 2020-21 provides for the
following parking norms: Commercial 3 ECS/100 sqm; Residential: -- 2 ECS/100 sqm; Government
1.8 ECS/100 sqm. These spaces are not counted towards the allowable floor area. Also Indian norms
allow individual and private parking areas that cannot be shared with others. These elements are the part
of the conventional approach. Indian cities are trying to be demand realistic.

But as evident from the global experiences, the approaches to provisioning of parking is changing:
First of all, governments are shifting from the practice of setting minimum standards to maximum
allowable standards per unit of built up area. The other message is it is best not to have rigid parking
requirements and meet it in a flexible way through a combination of public and common parking, off-
site parking anywhere near the vicinity, etc. If parking provisions can be done flexibly then it will also
reduce the development costs for the developers. Japan though sets low minimum parking
requirements that even leads to 'spillover', they have quite good enforcement of on-street parking
and also very limited parking in some areas that help to reduce the parking demand.

Rigid standards have the risk of creating over capacity in areas that are well connected with public
transport, have TDM measurers, and better enforcement. In other global cities parking standards are
set in a flexible way. In Hong Kong for instance, the office buildings in the central business district
have the possibility of zero parking as these areas are very well connected with other modes.
Residential parking requirements vary with quality of accessibility and district engineers assess
parking on a case-by-case basis (Barter 2010). Cities in the Netherlands have parking standards
(both minimums and maximums) that vary based on the accessibility of each location.

Progressively cities also curtail parking. For example, Delhi that has about 115 cars per 1000 people
allows 3 ECS/100 sqm in commercial areas. But Tokyo that has nearly 400 cars per 1000 persons
allows 0.5 ECS/100 sqm in CBD much less than Delhi. Cities do not increase parking indefinitely.

Consider the potential changes in parking demand that is possible with improvement in public
transport connectivity and access to the location. Parking plans need to account for the changes in
parking demand with improvement in public transport in different zones. For instance, -- In
Connaught Place in Delhi, parking demand dropped by 10% after introduction of metro. Similarly, the
feasibility study for Mangalam Place anticipates shift in modal split in favour of public transport after
metro. DMRC study shows that in Vikas Marg metro can reduce the trips of different modes. That will
indirectly impact upon parking demand.

Parking should be created as far as possible -- as common and shared public parking spaces. The
strategy should be to minimize and avoid serving of each building with its own parking. Most Indian
cities have dense urban neighbourhoods with mixed land use. It is more judicious to build parking for
the neighbourhood and not for each building separately. If the policy can be reoriented to provide
parking for each development area instead of each building then the parking requirement will also be
modest. This is being done in Tokyo, Taipei etc. This will also help to reduce development cost of
buildings. Thus, standards may be reviewed periodically and revised if necessary. Parking should be
shared, common and not individually owned, and it should be priced.

iii. Pricing parking: eliminate subsidies

Parking is free in most parts of all Indian cities. Even the priced parking is very low. Indian cities are
known to have the lowest parking fees in the world. But this needs to change if parking strategy is
expected to reduce travel demand and car usage. But some regressive trends have also set in as
evident in the recent case of Khan Market, a posh commercial area in Central Delhi where the traders
have fought to assure free parking to the rich clientele (See Annex Khan Market imbroglio: Negotiating
free parking for the rich). This has also shown how the environmental benefits of paid and restricted
parking is not well understood and also ignored in our cities.

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Rationalising parking pricing is therefore very critical.

Priced parking can help to reduce demand for parking and car usage. Global experience shows that
appropriately priced parking can reduce automobile commuting by 10-30 per cent especially if linked
with transportation choices. In Shenzhen, China for instance, hike in parking fees during peak hours
leads to 30% drop in the parking demand.

Neither private developers nor government should ensure plentiful parking if motorists are not paying
all or most of the cost through parking fees. NUTP has also stated it that parking rates should reflect
the true value of the land etc. Government led parking involves a subsidy if the parking charges do
not cover the full costs. All parking areas have an opportunity cost that is not considered for parking
pricing.

Eliminate free parking, increase parking rates effectively in targeted areas that have good public
transport connectivity to influence commuting behaviour. Introduce variable parking rates according
to peak hour, duration of stay; commercial importance of areas; according to weekdays when
demand is high, and weekends when low. Charge convenient parking spaces higher than the
inconvenient places to reduce congestion and influence commuting choices. Limiting parking
duration for short term users can ensure higher customer turnover rates for local businesses and
also reduce local congestion. Free parking should be allowed only to cycles and cycle rickshaws and
battery operated vehicles and public transport vehicles. Parking rates should be higher for big cars
and SUVs etc.

Cities need to move towards full cost pricing. But it is also being asked if the government should
remain involved in the fixing of parking rates or should this be demand and market driven?

The earnings from parking and even the in-liu payments should go for mobility/accessibility
enhancement and not just parking. This is being practiced in Germany.

iv. Design parking for multimodal integration and improving public transport usage

Parking can be creatively deployed within the framework of multimodal integration to improve usage of
alternatives buses, cycling and walking. Cities like Delhi are already developing guidelines for transit
oriented development and integration of interchange points. These design guidelines will target the
influence zone of 500 meters radius around the transport hubs and mass transit interchange points.

These guidelines are expected to prioritise the parking needs of different modes within the influence
zone of mass transit network and terminals. These are being designed to enhance walking, cycling
and public transport access within the influence zone. In the parking design spaces for buses, inter-
mediate transport vehicles and cycles are given priority followed by car. Park and ride concept is
customized according to this principle. The global experience is pointing towards the fact that car
parks for park and ride on high value land near the mass transit stations do not make economic
sense and are wasteful. Moreover, car based access to mass transit may also not be effective and
viable option in dense city core of Indian cities especially if they are served well by good public
transport systems. Car based access cannot be the priority in such situation. When a conflict exists
between different modes (such as devoting road space to sidewalks, bikepaths, buslanes, on-street
parking or traffic lanes), car parking should generally be last.

v. Principles for residential and mixed land-use parking

The parking guidelines of the ministry of urban development have proposed land-use based parking
strategies but these strategies have not been defined explicitly. In practice there is barely any specific
parking strategy for residential/mixed land-use areas except the provision of parking standards for
residential buildings which in Delhi is 2 ECS per 100 sq meters. Otherwise, most of it is free on-street
parking and most neighbourhoods suffer from enormous spill over.

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As cities need to remain compact, dense, closed built and mixed land-used, motorization without clear
guiding principles for parking will aggravate chaos. The following principle for residential and mixed
parking may be considered:

First of all it is important to encourage and promote common public/shared/priced parking no matter
who owns it and where. Personal private parking spaces should be discouraged.

Residential parking both on-street and off-street -- will also have to be priced. Allow residential
parking permits that can be purchased for on-street parking. As mentioned earlier, even if building
bye laws are relaxed for more parking it will have to be priced, and market driven. Parking should be
treated as leasable floor space rather than as a service for buildings. This will influence how supply
and pricing decisions are made regarding parking.

De-link cost of residential units from the cost of the parking space. Pay separately and directly for
parking spaces.

There is some nascent move in Indian cities towards more stringent provisions for residential
parking. Some north eastern cities like Aizawl have taken the lead in making parking availability
conditional to car ownership and purchase. The MPD21 in Delhi provides for linking new vehicle
registration with owner parking facility.

The Tokyo experience shows that a combination of low parking requirement, parking pricing and
shifting the onus of finding parking space to the car owners can have very effective results in
residential areas. As the Japanese regulations demand proof of parking it has created a thriving local
market in parking in which people pay to find parking spaces in the neighbourhood. Many Japanese
car-owners lease residential parking in their neighborhoods at local market prices (Barter 2010).
Parking is therefore done outside home and in common, common priced off sites. This parking is de-
linked from the residential units. Such neighbourhood parks also encourage walking for errands.

In dense mixed land use areas many buildings or site renewal projects cannot accommodate parking
in their plans due to the constraints of space especially in the older areas of cities. This without
proper parking management leads to chaotic traffic. In Delhi for instance, in such cases, equivalent
parking impact fee is levied for the authorities to facilitate common offsite parking infrastructure. But
space is still not available even for common parking. As a result nearly 3000 streets in Delhi that
have been declared commercial streets are facing a challenge even after many of the property
owners in the area have paid the fee. To reduce the traffic impact of changing land-use local area
management plan should be created to promote pedestriansiation, limiting of parking spaces, shared
parking, and targeted improvement in public transport and NMT access to these targeted areas.

Also in residential/mixed land-use areas will require a good on-street parking management as well as
well planned pedestrianisation with improved public transport access. Simultaneously promote
shared, collective and priced parking instead of individual owner parking. Area wise plans and
guidelines will have to be worked out accordingly. Smart management should ensure access to local
business, provide access for local visitors without encroaching on public spaces.

vi. Parking management and regulatory strategies

The key question today is how the available legal parking spaces can be utilized to highest efficiency and
financial viability. How new parking facilities may be developed as a multi-use shared amenity to increase
efficiency in use of space, time and finances. International experience shows that efficient utilisation of
the existing legal parking lots can increase parking capacity by atleast 20-40%. It will prevent illegal
parking and also free up space from parking. A management strategy that hinges on charging for
parking, stopping parking on walkways, and adding on-street roadway parking can also generate parking
surplus.

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The MOUD parking principles makes the assumption that expansion in off-street parking with
construction of both above ground and under ground multi-level parking lot can help to curtail the on-
street parking. But global reviews have shown that it is erroneous to think that plentiful supply of off street
parking will automatically reduce and eliminate on-street parking. This never happens unless parking is
banned in selected areas by law. On-street parking will always remain as it is attractive to the motorists
as it is most convenient. Also areas specially mixed land use areas that are space constrained will have
some amount of on-street parking. Therefore, even as steps are taken to discourage on-street parking
what remains will require proper management.

Parking management strategies may include designating on-street parking areas based on the traffic
volume of the streets, efficient utilisation of the existing parking lots valet parking, upgradation of
metering, IT application for improved user information, parking management for spill over. Each
parking area will also require design guidelines and the IRC guidelines that exist will also have to be
reviewed. Universal design for physically challenged will also be a critical parameter.

Enforce strict penalty for violation of parking regulations and walkway encroachment. The current
penalty for parking violation under Central Motor Vehicles Rules is ineffective. Tokyo and other
Japanese cities have very successfully implemented stringent penalty for parking violation which it is
said has pushed up the marginal cost for the car owners.

Local authorities will have to play a role in identifying areas for creating common parking facility at
transit management centres of DTC Depots, Local Bus Terminus, Interstate Bus terminus and Metro
stations as well as freight stations.

Parking for non-motorised transport cycles and cycle rickshaws will have to be built into the parking
design. Cities like Delhi are developing Rent-a-cycle systems near metro and BRT stations. Their
parking will have to be integrated with the system design.

In India commercial buildings with more than 20,000 sqm need Environment Impact Assessment in
India. The parking and congestion impacts of these building projects on the adjacent roads and the
neighbourhood should also be carefully assessed and considered for environmental clearance.

MOUD parking guidelines have made a provision for parking legislation. But its prerequisites should
be assessed and detailed along the TDM prinicples.

vii. Parking revenue

The big gain from parking can be revenue for the local government. Globally the trend is moving
towards privately managed public parking in which the government plays the role of setting the terms
of issuing parking lease to augment revenue from parking. Periodic license renewal pegged to the
parking earni9ngs can help to enhance revenue. The NUTP has also stated that revenue from
parking should be used for public transport betterment.

Global review also indicates that the tax policy for parking should be designed in a way that the
parking spaces are taxed at the same rate if the land was used for other developments. This will also
help to offset revenue losses from the other potential uses of the land. Land cost of the off-site
parking is subsidized by the government. Well managed parking and increased/free pricing can help
to augment the returns of the concessionaire. Accordingly, the lease agreement for the concession
period can be designed. Appropriate methods of estimating parking revenue may be worked out.
Maximize the revenue gains to be ploughed back for other sustainable practices.

viii. Global action: Change is possible

Leading cities around the world are using more efficient parking management and the travel demand
principles to address multiple problems and create more liveable, and therefore attractive and
economically vibrant, urban environments. Some key examples:

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Portland, Oregon set an overall cap of 40,000 parking spaces downtown. This increased public
transport usage from 20-25 per cent in the 1970s to 48 per cent in mid 1990s.
Seattle allows a maximum of one parking space per 100 square metres at downtown office
San Francisco limits parking to seven per cent of a downtown buildings floor area
New York: Very high parking fees and limited parking supply lowers car ownership far below the
average rates in other US cities.
Boston has frozen parking requirements at 10 per cent higher than the 1973 levels. This has helped
Boston to meet the federal clean air standards.
Bogota has removed limit on the fees that private parking companies can charge. The revenue is
dedicated to road maintenance and public transit improvement.
Shenzhen: Hike in parking fees during peak hours leads to 30% drop in the parking demand.
Tokyo: Enforcement against parking violations cuts congestion drastically . Private firms allowed to
issue tickets for parking violations. This makes on-street parking expensive.
Bremen: No free parking in city centre. Parking charges higher than public transport cost.
Globally, customers agree to pay high parking charges if they get good shopping and pedestrian
environment. This also improves business.

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Annex

Khan Market: Negotiating free parking for the rich

Parking imbroglio in Khan Market is the most recent instance in Delhi where battle lines have been drawn to protect
the rich from paying for parking in one of upmarket areas of Central Delhi. Khan market draws elite clientele but they
have been assured free parking for the last 60 years. Khan Market traders Association (KMTA) states that the
system of free parking in Khan Market has worked well. KMTA has 25 attendants managing the parking lot. The
entire fund of the attendants is being collected by them by way of contributions from the shopkeepers. While offering
free parking to its customers the KMTA has offered to pay a fixed amount every month to the New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC).

Proposals for paid parking at Khan Market were mooted by the NDMC in 2001, 2004 and 2006 but were dropped
after the KMTA protested. The Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) directed paid parking in Khan Market
area on March 5, 2011 as a solution to the parking woes and congestion in the area. In fact, in 2006, SC had given
the direction to NDMC to inter alia submit a proposal to the EPCA before 31st October 2006 for rationalised parking
rates for all types of parking based on the user pay principle in which the user will pay the full cost of parking and the
element of subsidy is eliminated. The Supreme Court also required the officials of NDMC, the MCD and the GNCTD
to cooperate with the EPCA so that final parking policy can be placed by the EPCA before this Court expeditiously.

According to the NDMC since KMTA was not paying any licence fees to the NDMC till date, it was suffering loss of
considerable revenue. All other major markets in the NDMC jurisdiction have paid-parking.

But KMTA approached NDMC and EPCA on March 22, 2011 against the proposal and conveyed that if paid parking
was permitted, it would lead to spill over of cars to the surrounding roads where free parking is available leading to
inconvenience and nuisance in the neighbourhood colonies. They also alleged that in contractor managed parking
there is rampant encroachment by hawkers, vendors and beggars. Further, the contractors tended to maximise
their profits by over-crowding parking lots. On this basis they tried to justify free parking.

The matter moves to court. High Court Hearing-- June 3, 2011

The KMTA commented during the hearing that it is prepared to compensate the NDMC for any revenue loss but that
should be on reasonable terms. There was a proposal to fix the charge according to the Tariff Group A of NDMC
and equate it with the rates of Connaught Place. But that was not acceptable to KMTA as that raises the license fee
amount. The rates were then fixed at lower rates for NDMC area that worked out to be a monthly license fee of Rs.
5,34,207/-. This was supposed to be linked to the competitive rates offered by the contractor in the tender process
for parking lots of NDMC area for the period from 1st April 2011 to 31st March 2030. . But the KMTA representatives
were not willing to pay even this as this translated to a sum of Rs. 1500/- per month per shop. However, eventually
this rate has prevailed.

The court advised both the traders and the corporation to explore the possibilities of implementing a Bhagidari
system on similar lines to that in Bengali Market. The system there has ensured that there is no dispute between the
council and local traders in terms of parking. The High Court during its judgment noted that given the profile of those
visiting Khan Market, which is doubtless a much sought after destination in the heart of the city, the payment of a
modest parking fee at rates comparable to the parking rates in other commercial centres in the area including
Connaught Place cannot cause inconvenience to either the general public or the KMTA.

However, it is important to note that the High Court has taken on board the principles of travel demand management
proposed by EPCA. The Judgment states -- private vehicle owners must pay the cost of the use of public spaces
required for parking and further that parking policy cannot be based on the increase of parking supply, but on
restricting the availability of parking in the city and strict enforcement to ensure against misuse. NDMC should
ensure strict enforcement of higher parking charges for on-street parking in neighboring areas or ban the practice
completely with the help of other enforcement agencies such as the Traffic Police. The judgment advised NDMC to
keep a tighter vigil to prevent misuse and other violations.

The High Court also stated that although introduction of paid parking by itself may not reduce air pollution tangibly, a
beginning had to be made. The Court recognized that it was a policy decision that the NDMC had to take keeping in
view the increased traffic congestion in the area and the corresponding increase in the demand for parking space.
Further, no exception could be made only for Khan Market when every other major market in the NDMC area had
paid parking.

It was finally agreed that KMTA will pay a monthly license fee to NDMC.

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PARKING IMPERATIVES CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

This development has constrained the application of user pay principle and the strategy of variable pricing to
influence commuter behaviour. Hidden subsidy will continue and this weakens the case for paid parking in the area.

Now the license fee to be paid by the KMTA works out to be Rs. 93 per sq. m. of the parking area per month which is
much lower than Category A parking lots of Connaught Place which fetch Rs. 186 per sq. m. per month that is used
in the tender process. Otherwise, the rental in area runs several thousand per sq mt.

Also, the shopkeepers who do not use cars to commute will also be brought under the loop of paying the monthly
license fee unnecessarily. In fact according to Tariff A zone the cost of parking a car for one month is Rs. 1000 as
opposed to Rs. 1500+ which every trader in Khan Market will have to shelve out to NDMC. There is no economic
rationale for the traders decision at Khan Market. The fear of loss of clientele seems unnecessary as people visiting
other affluent shopping areas like malls etc. also shelve out a lot of money as parking fee. Since Khan Market is a
much sought after destination for the affluent in the city, the parking charges at current tariffs are not a restraint.

KMTA could have earned substantially if the rates were rationalized and car users were made to pay for parking.
Now that KMTA is the licensee, it can manage the parking free or paid. In case, they continue with the free parking, a
sum of Rs. 1500/- per month to NDMC will be paid per shop. This is in addition to the contribution they already make
towards the maintenance of the lot and salaries given to the parking attendees. Why do the shop keepers want to
subsidise the rich clientele of Delhi?

The moot question remains why the rich be allowed free use of land especially when their cars entail enormous
social, environmental and real estate costs?

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