Delhi’s ever-increasing population has added to the parking woes in the national capital, which in turn has boosted the power of the parking mafia. The city’s municipal bodies have failed to provide a solution to the growing parking problem in the last several years. The South and North Municipal Corporations, keen to curb the increasing menace of haphazard parking across the city, have announced several parking projects. These projects have repeatedly missed deadlines and are still under construction, leaving commuters helpless. Parking chaos in Delhi is a common sight, but the delay in the multi-level parking projects is leading to hard times for the residents and commuters. The projects, which were supposed to be completed and functional, are still awaiting completion. Currently, there are eight SDMC parking projects under construction at different South Delhi locations like New Friends Colony, at Bhogal near Ashram, Krishna Market, Kalkaji, Hauz Khas, GK-I, South Extension, Munirka, but all the projects have missed their deadlines. According to officials, the deadlines for some of these projects have been extended, but the pace of construction is not up to the mark. According to sources, the deadline for Greater Kailash-I parking project was February 2014, but it was extended till March next year. Similarly, South Extension I and II parking project deadline was September last year, but the pace of the construction paints a different picture. The construction of multi-level parking near Deshbandhu College has also been delayed. The construction at Bhogal, near Ashram, is about 40-50 per cent complete and at Kalkaji, the structural work is 70 per cent complete. R.K. Pradhan, a resident of Kalkaji, says, “Despite of the construction having started in 2010, it is yet to see the light of the day. Now we have got to know that the deadlines have been extended to 2015. This shows the poor planning and execution by the civic authorities.” According to the residents, the New Friends Colony parking has been pending since the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and is 90 per cent complete. Residents blame the laid-back attitude of the authorities and the gap between planning and completion of these parking areas. On the other hand, illegal parking is also on rise in the market area and the roadsides. On the subject, the civic officials said, “The projects got delayed due to lack of funds from the Central government. If the projects had got funds on time, the construction would have been completed on time.” Between 2007 and 2009, the erstwhile MCD had planned eight conventional parking projects in South Delhi. However, none of them are operational today. Of eight parking lots, less than 60 per cent work has been finished in four projects, says a recent report. Two parking projects — Hauz Khas and Munirka — are 90 per cent complete and the civic agency is yet to make them operational, the officials said. During the Assembly polls last year, the BJP, which is in majority in all the three civic corporations, had pushed for early completion of the projects. Parade Ground parking under North Delhi Municipal Corporation is yet to complete construction of the third level of the multi-level parking structure. With work on Delhi Metro’s heritage corridor moving fast, parking has become a serious problem in the area.