A three-person committee set up by the Chandigarh UT administration is working on a draft for electric vehicle policy in the city to go green in the future. It has been suggested to give incentives for electric vehicle buyers by eliminating registration fees, road taxes, and 50% MC parking charges. This is an effort to promote the use of plug-in electric vehicles in the state and to lower pollution levels by reducing vehicle emissions.
UT Adviser Dharam Pal said that after receiving the committee’s report, suggestions and objections will be invited on the draft policy, adding that Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra, Deputy Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar, and Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) Chief Executive Officer Debendra Dalai would be the committee members.
Another element of the plan is “streamlining and expediting the process of private and commercial e-vehicle registration by making online registration immediate.” Vehicles equipped with electric motors will be able to register, including two, three, and four-wheelers.
The policy’s goal is to reduce car emissions and therefore clean up the air in the city. Slowly but surely, the city’s administration intends to enhance the city’s infrastructure to promote the sale of electric vehicles.
Sources in the department said the electric car policy will be enforced for five years after receiving permission from the UT Administrator, and then updated to reflect new situations.
The UT Administration has also intended to acquire electric vehicles for its officials as a green fuel.
The UT Administration has completed a one-month trial run of an electric bus around the city in order to lessen pollution and reliance on fossil fuels. The public will be able to ride the electric buses starting in the first week of October after the city received 19 more on September 30. Another batch of 20 buses is anticipated to arrive in the city within the next month, while the purchase of another 40 electric buses is already underway and should arrive next year.
The Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Ministry’s Department of Heavy Industries have allotted 80 electric buses under the FAME India Scheme (Phase ll) in India. The 10-year contract with Ashok Leyland covers the first 40 buses.
With the purchase of the buses, the UT Transport Department’s aim to replace the entire Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) fleet of 358 diesel buses with electric buses by 2027-2028 would get a big boost.
The UT Administration had produced a draft of financial incentives for electric vehicle buyers in July 2021. For electric vehicles, the Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (Crest) has suggested waiving the registration cost entirely.
According to the planned proposal, incentives of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity would be offered on the purchase of the first 1,000 electric four-wheelers. Two-wheel electric vehicles will get Rs 5,000 incentives for the first 2,000 units and three-wheel vehicles such as e-rickshaws, e-carts, and e-autos will get Rs 30,000 incentives. There will be incentives for electric three-wheelers, but only if they use lead-acid batteries or swappable versions, and if the battery is not sold along with the vehicle.
