How bad is the Delhi/NCR parking issue? People are killing each other

Delhi /NCR parking issue led to a murder, the eye opening facts will leave you shocked!

HIGHLIGHTS

• Over 250 calls the police control room receives about parking feuds in residential areas every single day.
• Over 36 lakh – number of households in the national capital Delhi which means every single household has 3 cars on average, as per the Delhi government data.
• In January 2019, over 1,607,300 vehicles (about a million-and-half) were bought and registered across the nation — which means an average of 51,000 new vehicles a day.

THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS WHICH AFFECT CAR PARKING IN DELHI SUCH AS TRAFFIC, INCREASING VEHICLES AND MORE

In India, the traffic condition in some cities is so much worse than in others that it makes the whole trip unpleasant and exhausting.

The fact is if you are stuck in a traffic jam in Delhi, Bengaluru, or Mumbai, then congrats because you’re on one of the world’s Top 10 most-choked roads (not something to be proud of BTW), according to the latest TomTom traffic index report.

Trying to park your vehicle deliberately without permission can get you killed in the National Capital Delhi. The concept of ‘parking rage‘ is now a huge cause for concern for the city’s police department.

The traffic in Delhi has been very disappointing for a very long time and this time, an argument over car parking led to the roadside murder of a 35-year-old man who was a son of a retired Delhi Police officer. A horrifying video of the crime went viral in which it showed a man smashing the victim’s head with a brick. 

At least 1 person has been killed every month because of parking-related disputes over the last year, according to the police. And the police receive close to 250 calls daily on their helpline number about disputes triggered by fights over car parking spaces.

Multiple incidents of murder in public were reported in the past years also over car parking issues and it has sparked concerns regarding the law-and-order situation in Delhi and NCR along with the failure of police to check violence and law and disorder situation on the streets.

Non-availability of parking space in the residential areas and busy markets of the national capital is the prime reason behind fights related to parking.

PARKING ‘MOST SERIOUS PROBLEMS’ IN DELHI: SUPREME COURT

In 2019, the Supreme Court termed parking one of the “most serious problems“, directed the Delhi government to ensure that a proper assessment of parking needs for the next 25 years is done while granting permission for building any structure in the national capital.

The top court also directed all civic bodies — the New Delhi Municipal Council, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, East Delhi Municipal Corporation, and Delhi Cantonment Board.

Vehicles are increasing every day but parking spaces remain the same in the national capital.  

OVER 13 MILLION REGISTERED VEHICLES IN DELHI, ALMOST HALF OF THEM ‘INVALID’

The national capital has 13.4 million registered vehicles, but about 5.6 million or let’s say 42% of them are “invalid”, meaning without any registration according to an analysis by the state transport department released this year (2022).

The department took the analysis after it de-registered 101,639 diesel vehicles that are between 10 and 15 years old this month. As per the rules laid down in various orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (2015) and the Supreme Court (2018), any registered diesel vehicle more than 10 years old, and petrol vehicles over 15 years old cannot operate in the national capital region (NCR).

Such vehicles are described as trash and “End of Life” vehicles and using them in Delhi is illegal. Such vehicles are even illegal to be parked in public spaces.

MORE THAN 50 LAKH VEHICLES DE-REGISTERED

The latest reports indicate that the Delhi transport department has de-registered over 50 lakh vehicles so far this year (till October 17, 2022), as per the official data.

The de-registered vehicles include diesel vehicles that are older than a decade (10 years) and petrol vehicles older than 15 years, the officials said, adding that this is the highest number of vehicles deregistered in a year.

The transport department has been cracking down on polluting vehicles as a method to curb pollution released by older vehicles.

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According to the latest data published in PTI, 53,38,045 vehicles were de-registered between the years 2018 and 2022, with 50,25,447 vehicles being de-registered till October 17, 2022.

The de-registered vehicles include about 46 lakh petrol vehicles that are older than 15 years, 4,15,362 diesel vehicles older than 10 years and 1,46,681 vehicles under petrol and CNG.

As on January 31, 2022, the national capital had over 13.4 million (13,402,875) registered vehicles out of which over 7.8 million (7866867) have been labelled as “active” vehicles by the transport department.

DELHI’S TRAFFIC CONTINUES TO BE THE WORST MAKING IT HARD FOR CAR PARKING

Over the past four years, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have consistently featured on TomTom’s top 10 most congested cities in the world regarding traffic. Mumbai was at #1 in the year 2018 and has remained in the top five since then.

Another reason is that over 2 million vehicles in Delhi don’t have pollution control certificates. 

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also raised concerns over vehicular pollution on September 30. “Officials have identified 203 heavy traffic roads and have prepared measures to decongest them,” the Delhi chief minister said at a press conference.

According to the reports, the country’s road networks have risen by over 30% in the past decade. And, vehicle registrations have grown by almost 3 times.

Rain also causes heavy traffic jams, and waterlogging, in the national capital. During monsoons or when there is heavy rainfall, commuters always witness heavy traffic jams in various parts of the national capital caused by rain due to waterlogging.

According to the latest TomTom Traffic Index report, Delhi ranked 11th among the world’s most congested cities.