Representative image. Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
Anyone who parks in central New Delhi, from Connaught Place shoppers to office commuters, could face higher fees and a hard 24-hour limit if the plan goes ahead. On the reported charges, a car towed and held for three days would cost ₹2,500 in towing and storage, a NewsPlainly illustration. The rules are still at tender stage, so none of this applies yet.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the civic body for the Lutyens’ Delhi area, plans to turn all 157 NDMC parking sites into smart parking lots where any vehicle left for more than 24 hours is flagged and can be towed. A tender for private operators went out on 22 October 2026, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported, and Hindustan Times reported on 26 October that towing a car would cost ₹1,000 plus ₹500 a day in storage under the plan.
Nothing has changed at the parking lots yet. Bids are due on 12 November, and the winning operators get three months to install the system before running it.
What the NDMC parking plan changes for drivers
Today the council runs the sites itself, largely by hand. Under the tender, private agencies would take over and fit them with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras that read licence plates, FASTag readers, boom barriers and screens showing free slots, according to both reports. Drivers would be able to check availability, book a space, buy a monthly pass and pay digitally through an app or website, PTI said.
The 24-hour rule is the part most likely to catch regular parkers. The project report quoted by Hindustan Times says the system must check every day whether vehicles that entered a lot have left, and send an alert to the NDMC and Delhi Police if one stays beyond 24 hours. NDMC officials told the paper such vehicles would be towed to a designated yard and charged. The same charges would apply to vehicles towed from no-parking zones.
Hindustan Times also reported these changes:
- Night parking would cost double the normal hourly rate; the report’s wording ties this to parking beyond 24 hours.
- NDMC parking rates are expected to rise by up to 40 to 50%, and monthly passes to two to three times the current price, the paper said, without naming new rates.
- Lots in market areas would run at least from 8 am to midnight, and those in other areas from 8 am to 11 pm.
PTI added that officials plan pink parking spots for women and charging points for electric vehicles, and that on-street operators must put surveillance equipment along a 200-metre stretch to spot unauthorised parking.
Towing charges under the smart parking tender
These are the towing charges and storage fees NDMC officials described to Hindustan Times.
| Vehicle | Towing charge | Storage charge |
|---|---|---|
| Car | ₹1,000 | ₹500 a day |
| Light goods vehicle | ₹3,000 | ₹1,000 a day |
| Medium passenger vehicle | ₹3,000 | ₹1,000 custody or storage |
To show what that adds up to, take a hypothetical car left in an NDMC lot over a long weekend and collected three days after it was towed. On these figures the owner would pay ₹1,000 for the tow and ₹1,500 for three days of storage, or ₹2,500, before any parking fee for the time spent in the lot. This is a NewsPlainly illustration from the reported charges, not a figure from the tender.
Neither report said whether the operator or the police would decide when a flagged car is towed, or how an owner would be told.
157 parking sites, 3 clusters and ₹6.4 crore a month
The project covers about 15,060 equivalent car spaces, a unit that counts every vehicle as a share of one car’s space. PTI reported that the sites are split into three clusters, each to be run by one operator under a five-year contract that includes the three-month setup period.
| Cluster | Parking sites | Monthly licence fee | Performance security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connaught Place | 48 | ₹2.05 crore | ₹6.15 crore |
| North of Connaught Place | 63 | ₹2.25 crore | ₹6.75 crore |
| South of Connaught Place | 46 | ₹2.10 crore | ₹6.31 crore |
| Total | 157 | ₹6.40 crore | ₹19.21 crore |
The licence fee is a fixed monthly payment the operators make to the council, on top of a share of parking revenue, according to PTI. The agency reported that parking fees across the three clusters are expected to bring in more than ₹7 crore a month once the system is fully running, and that operators will carry the capital and running costs. Earnest money, the deposit a bidder puts down to show it is serious, is set at ₹20 lakh, ₹23 lakh and ₹19 lakh for the three clusters.
For another civic change in the capital this month, NewsPlainly has reported on Delhi’s last 48 rural villages being declared urban.
When the new NDMC parking rules could start
- 22 October: tender document made available, PTI reported.
- 30 October: pre-bid meeting for interested agencies.
- 12 November: last date to submit bids.
- 13 November: technical bids opened.
- After award: three months to install the system, then operation for the rest of the five-year term.
Neither report gave a date for awarding the contracts or for new rates to take effect.
Frequently asked questions
Will cars parked for more than 24 hours be towed in New Delhi?
Under the NDMC plan, the system would flag vehicles in its lots for more than 24 hours to the NDMC and Delhi Police, and officials told Hindustan Times they would be towed. It is not in force yet.
What are the NDMC towing charges for cars?
₹1,000 for towing and ₹500 a day for storage, according to NDMC officials quoted by Hindustan Times.
How many NDMC parking sites will become smart parking?
All 157, split into Connaught Place (48), north (63) and south (46) clusters, PTI reported.