After a series of delays, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is finally set to inaugurate the city’s first automated multi-level car parking facility at Sarojini Nagar. Officials said the facility will be opened before Diwali because they are only awaiting a no-objection certificate for its lift system. Though the parking lot was earlier scheduled to be inaugurated in June, the deadline has been moved to the first week of October. “We have been told that the inauguration is scheduled for September 31 or the first week of October,” said NDMC vice-chairperson Tajdar Babar, confirming the date. Stating that the parking lot has been leased out to the NDMC for a period of 30 years, an official said, “We have obtained all the necessary approvals and certificates from departments such as fire and engineering. We just need an NOC for our lifts, and it is expected to come along soon.” The Sarojini Nagar multi-level parking lot will comprise eight floors, and have a commercial zone. “The ground floor and the first floor will be reserved for commercial outlets. The lot will have a parking capacity for 824 vehicles,” said the official. These automated parking lots will have car lifts, pallets and computerised control systems that would be operational round-the-clock. According to NDMC officials, the maximum retrieval time for a car will be three minutes. “We have constructed pallets at various levels, where cars will be parked. The parking facility has mechanised lifts that will transport the car to different levels. The car owner will need to leave the vehicle at the entrance of the building, for which he will be given a ticket. The car will then be automatically transported from the entrance to the place where it can be parked. Similarly, when a person needs to get his car back from parking, the car will be retrieved via trolley and placed at the exit for the owner to take away,” Babar said. Officials say automated car park facility require less building volume and ground space, as compared to conventional parking lots.