New cab rules to ease parking woes

New Delhi: In a bid to deal with the parking problem in the national capital, the Delhi government’s transport department is planning to introduce a rule to first seek proof of parking space from cab owners before issuing permits to them in the city.

This comes two days after a draft parking policy was presented before lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal, who had issued a number of directions to concerned authorities to tackle parking woes.

A senior government official said there was a need of regulating parking space for cabs whose numbers in the national capital have reached around 1.44 lakh. “The government is considering to introduce a new rule under which cab drivers will be asked to produce a proof to park their vehicles before issuing permits to them,” the official said.

Another official said as there was no such condition at present, cab drivers park their vehicles in residential areas, encroaching on road space. As per official records, there are 1,12,511 motor cabs registered in the national capital till December last year. Besides, 29,948 maxi cabs and 2,396 luxury taxis are registered with transport department.

Earlier this week, Mr Baijal had directed authorities to identify roads and commercial streets in the city as “No Tolerance Zone” to deal with the situation.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was also asked to work out parking slots for para-transit vehicles and underground parking for public convenience and last mile connectivity.