The inter-ministerial committee on 'Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi' was set up in 2014 following media reports on massive traffic congestion in the national capital.
An increase in parking fee, imposing congestion tax and a 10-fold hike in fine for parking violations are among the top recommendations of a special panel to decongest Delhi.
The high-powered committee set up by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, in its 126-page report, said parking fee must be based on the area of the city, duration of parking and size of the vehicle. It also sought making parking on footpaths as cognisable offence under Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, according to an official release.
As the Delhi government works on removing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the panel in contrast recommended building more such corridors. It also said that 6,000 more buses should be procured for public transport and the fares be priced less than per/km cost of running a two-wheeler.
The report also suggested creating walking, cycling infrastructure and mandatory provision of footpaths on all roads along with interventions worth Rs 20,000 crore through BRTS.
The inter-ministerial committee on 'Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi' was set up in 2014 following media reports on massive traffic congestion in the national capital.
Headed by Urban Development Ministry Secretary Rajiv Gauba, the panel has representatives from 19 different ministries, Delhi Police, among others.
"The Committee concluded that the explosive growth in automobile population needs to be checked quickly by adopting a 'carrot and stick'' policy of enabling increased use of public and non-motorised transport and disincentivising use of private vehicles through deterrent parking pricing and congestion tax," it said.
The panel in its report has opposed construction of flyovers and signal-free corridors alleging that they invited more private vehicles on the roads.