The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is gearing up for one of the city's most significant parking infrastructure expansions in recent years. The plan includes 49 surface parking lots and nine multilevel parking projects in some of the most congested markets and traffic-choked zones.
Key Locations and Projects
From the jam-packed commercial lanes of Karol Bagh to the crowded stretches of Rohini, Najafgarh, and the City-SP zone, MCD has begun identifying land parcels. Proposals are already under process, and clearances are being sought from multiple land-owning agencies, a senior official said. The entire project is expected to be completed in two to three years.
Officials revealed that 25 locations are being considered for multilevel parking, of which nine proposals are at an advanced stage, involving investments running into hundreds of crores.
Major Multilevel Facilities
At the heart of the plan is a massive multilevel facility at Idgah metro station, near the heavily congested Sadar-Paharganj commercial belt. This area is notorious for wholesale market traffic, roadside parking, and daily bottlenecks. Spread across nearly 23,000 square metres, the proposed ramp-type parking will accommodate around 2,100 equivalent car spaces at an estimated cost of Rs 346 crore, making it one of the largest parking infrastructure proposals in the city. The facility is proposed on the land of an old slaughterhouse. Initially planned under the Chief Minister Development Fund, it will now be built under a public-private partnership model.
Another major proposal is a Rs 80-crore puzzle-type automated parking at L.U. block in Pitampura under Keshav Puram zone. The project is awaiting land-use approval as the plot belongs to the education department.
A similar puzzle-type multilevel parking system, costing around Rs 40 crore, has been proposed at U.V. block in Shalimar Bagh, while a G+4 parking at Babarpur in Shahdara North is planned at around Rs 31 crore.
A Rs 380-crore multilevel parking has been proposed at the community centre in Preet Vihar Market under Shahdara South zone. Projects are also being pursued in Karol Bagh, Madipur, and Rani Bagh — areas where parking shortage routinely triggers traffic snarls, encroaches upon carriageways, and worsens congestion during peak hours.
Addressing Congestion
“Delhi’s roads are under tremendous pressure because of increasing vehicle numbers while road space remains limited. One of the biggest reasons behind congestion today is unorganised parking. Vehicles occupy carriageways, market roads, and even intersections, reducing the effective width of roads and slowing traffic movement across the city,” the official said.
He pointed out that land availability continues to be one of the biggest hurdles in a densely populated city like Delhi. “Many suitable sites belong to different land-owning agencies, so obtaining clearances and NOCs takes time. But the process is moving, and several proposals are under examination. We are trying to ensure that future parking demand is addressed before the situation becomes unmanageable.”
Surface Parking Proposals
Among the 49 surface parking proposals, five are in Karol Bagh, eight in the City-SP zone, three in Rohini, and 10 in Najafgarh. A few are also planned in Civil Lines, Shahdara North and South, West, Keshav Puram, and Central zones.
Officials said many of these sites have already been identified, while inspections and feasibility studies are underway in several other areas where vacant roadside land, open plots, and market-side spaces are being assessed for conversion into organised parking facilities.
“In several cases, site inspections are complete. We are coordinating with agencies such as DDA, PWD, and different civic departments for no objection certificates. Once the land-owning agencies grant clearance, the proposals are sent for traffic approval and further processing,” the official said.
Future Plans
Officials maintained that this exercise is only the beginning of a much larger parking expansion plan being worked out across the city. “This is not the end of the plan. More locations are continuously being identified because Delhi’s parking crisis is growing every year with rising vehicle ownership,” the official said.
Currently, Delhi has 30 multilevel parking facilities, while MCD operates 419 surface parking sites.
