Motorists using the Connaught Place route to get to other areas will soon have to fork out congestion charges.

Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta told Governance Now, "Delhi will be charging such motorists for congestion. If they want to avoid the charges, they will have to take some other route or use public transport."

Pegging such traffic to be at least 40 pc of the total vehicular traffic in the area, Mehta said that the move to decongest the area will also include tighter parking system with hiked parking charges, if a gap between availability of parking space and vehicles is found. Once western peripheral expressway (Kundli-Manesar-Palwal) is ready, trucks moving through the city will have to pay the congestion charges.

A study is afoot in many areas in the city including Lajpat Nagar and Karol Bagh, and reports are expected in three to five months, following which the system could be in place after three or four months, he added.

Congestion charges aim to restrict use of cars in urban areas and encourage public transport. But such a system which restricts people from using one route and asks them to take a longer route will certainly cause traffic jams on the other routes. As of now, it seems to be a kneejerk measure to bring down jams in the city.