In a major setback to the Delhiites, lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung has directed the civic agencies to increase the parking rates in various markets across the national capital. Mr Jung has directed the civic bodies to levy a congestion charge in some of the city’s most crowded markets in order to ease the traffic mess in posh markets. If the agencies abide by the directions of the L-G, commuters will have to bear a 200 per cent increase in the parking rates across the city. “The L-G has asked the corporations to levy a congestion charge in some of the popular markets because it will help discourage the use of private vehicles. Because of the unrestricted entry of private vehicles in these markets, there is hardly any space to move and that is what the L-G is now trying to address,” a senior Delhi government official said. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has already classified markets in its jurisdiction in three categories (A, B and C) based on the footfall count as well as the extent of congestion. If the new rates are implemented category-wise, the rates for category A markets will go up Rs 30 per hour and Rs 75 for three hours, for every hour after that the rate would be Rs 30. The category A markets in South Delhi are Greater Kailash, South Extension, and Lajpat Nagar. The shoppers in this category will suffer the most as the cost of parking vehicles will got up by 200 per cent as visitors have been paying Rs 10 per hour as of now. For the second category, the revised rate chart would be Rs 20 per hour and Rs 50 for three hours. The markets in the category B are Haus Khas Village, Sunder Nagar, Basant Lok. “During non-peak hours, a car parked in a Category A area, will have to pay Rs 75 for 1-3 hours, with an additional charge of Rs 30 per hour. Likewise, a car parked during peak hours in the same area for the same duration, will have to pay Rs 100, with an additional charge of Rs 50 per hour. For Category B, the cost will be Rs 50 and Rs 75 for parking,” a SDMC official said. However, the civic agencies are not too keen on increasing the parking prices as of now as they do not want to burden the common man. “We will not let revised prices be imposed as of now as it would be difficult for the common man,” said the official. Keeping in mind the political scenario in Delhi, if the fresh polls were to be implemented, the increased rates of parking facilities might not work in favour for the political parties.