In the first major step towards modernising parking system in the capital, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today appointed a high-powered committee to examine introduction of automated and IT-enabled parking facilities in Delhi on the lines of top cities in the world.

The committee to be headed by Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta will examine introduction of the modern parking system which will enable a car owner to park his car by swiping a credit card or smart card at automated kiosks after checking availability of space and other details.

Dikshit appointed the committee after she saw a presentation on the IT-enabled parking facilities which are quite common in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Brussels.

Officials said the city government is in the process of finalising two such facilities in Bhikaji Cama Place and Greater Kailash-II as pilot project.

They said under the automated parking system, motorists will be able to check availability of space, number of cars at the parking facility, fees and other related information online and accordingly, have the option of booking slots by paying online.

The officials said introduction of such a modern parking system will help authorities dealing with mafias controlling certain parking slots and encroachment on non-parking areas.

The presentation was attended by top officials of IT department, MCD, NDMC, police, Transport.

Besides Mehta, the committee will comprise the Transport Commissioner, the MCD Commissioner, the NDMC chairperson, the IT Secretary, Joint CP(Traffic), Project Director (Survey of India) and a representative from National Innovation Council.

Officials said the project was conceived as it was found that unregulated parking had significantly shrunk road space across the city resulting in traffic mess.

According to statistics, there are nearly 65 lakh vehicles registered in the city. The number of vehicles in Delhi is more than the total number in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. On an average over 1,000 vehicles are added to the city roads everyday.

15 per cent of the road space in Delhi are lost due to haphazard parking, the official said, adding, the national capital will be the only city in the country with such a parking facility.