NDMC Hikes Car Parking Fees in Delhi Amid Worst AQI

In the view of worsening air quality index (AQI), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) hikes car parking fees to Rs 40. NDMC has taken this move to discourage any unnecessary use of vehicles on the roads in the capital city. Now, users will have to pay a fee of Rs 40 per hour for parking their cars in the national capital instead of the usual Rs 20 per hour, according to a notification from the civic body.

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is a set of steps aimed at counting air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR). The plan comes into force automatically based on changes in the Air Quality Index (AQI), which aims to capture the quality of air in a particular region.

Several areas in Delhi slid into the severe air quality category as a significant layer of smog blanketed the city on Wednesday morning, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) crossing the 301 mark ('very poor'). The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) classifies AQI readings between 0 and 50 as 'good', between 51 and 100 as 'satisfactory', between 101 and 200 as 'moderate', between 201 and 300 as 'poor', and between 301 and 400 as 'very poor'.