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To cater to the rising interest in electric mobility across India, Chandigarh administration has chalked out a draft Electric Vehicle Policy. Chandigarh has the highest density of vehicles in India with appx 1.2 million vehicles taking to the streets daily. The emissions from these are impacting the Union Territory’s air quality. As per a proposal by the Ministry of Urban Development, Chandigarh will become a smart city and it has already started taking measures to adopt electric mobility.
Informing more about the EV policy, Uma Shankar Gupta, Director, Chandigarh Transport told TrafficInfratech, “Chandigarh Transport Undertaking has rolled out a tender for 40 electric buses and charging stations. A charge of Rs 4 per unit has been fixed by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) and a Rs 100 fixed monthly charge on the electricity bill for the charging stations.”
He further added, “Chandigarh aims to become one of the world’s leading clean cities that also promotes innovation and skill development in (the) EV sector. We have proposed that post-2030, only EVs will be registered in Chandigarh.”
According to the policy, by 2027, Chandigarh will have an all-electric fleet of public buses and by 2025; the city will have an all-electric government fleet. The city corporation has also proposed to install 1,000 public EV chargers by 2030. To encourage people to buy EV’s a subsidy Rs 20,000 only for the first 3,000 buyers has been proposed for the buyers of electric two- and three-wheelers.
Sharing more about the incentives, Gupta added, “On purchase of EVs, buyers will get a 100 percent exemption in road tax and registration charges till 2024. Additionally, there is also a free insurance for one year for the first 1,000 EV buyers in Chandigarh. Additionally, there is also a free insurance for one year for the first 1,000 EV buyers in Chandigarh.”
It has also been learnt that all government-owned parking spaces will have dedicated free parking slots reserved for EVs and all commercial buildings, education institutions will have reserved parking space for EVs equipped with charging facilities.