Electric mobility has been growing in India. There have been many changes with policies with electric vehicles. This has been done in order to promote electric vehicle purchases. All this will see momentum when Indian manufacturers start making Electric vehicles. In the past few months, all the major manufacturers have been seen testing their electric vehicles. The Union Territory (UT) of Chandigarh is one such region that the vehicle will be seen with an EV only policy. The administration has prepared a draft EV policy, which has been seen by our sister publication Autocar Professional. The UT of Chandigarh has become the latest entrant in the list of states with a draft of EV policy. The other states that are into this are Maharashtra, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and others. 

Chandighar has the highest density of vehicles. It has around 1.2 million vehicles. All of these are combustion vehicles and create pollution. With this new EV policy, the government is expecting to cut down pollution and improve air quality.

This city is a smart city and is undergoing to be one of the Smart Cities Mission of the Ministry of Urban Development. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking has been floated a tender that 40 electric buses and charging stations will be developed. The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission has fixed Rs 4 per unit and Rs 100 as a fixed monthly charge on the electricity bill of charging station. Chandigarh is on its way to becoming “one of the world’s leading clean vehicle cities” and also promotes “R&D, innovation and skill development in (the) EV sector.” Towards achieving these objectives, the UT proposes the following:

  • The only EV will be registered in the city after 2030.
  • To have completely electric fleet of public buses by 2027
  • To have a completely electric government vehicle by 2025. 
  • Electric rickshaws, Cabs and School buses/ vans on the road by 2030
  • To install 1,000 public EV chargers by 2030

Advantages for EV buyers.

  • Direct subsidy (only for first 3,000 buyers) of Rs 20,000 for buyers of electric two- and three-wheelers.
  • 100 percent exemption in road tax and registration charges up to 2024 will be given on EV purchases.
  • Free insurance (for the first 1,000 EV buyers in the city) for one year.
  • Dedicated free parking slots reserved for EVs in all government-owned parking spaces. In addition, all commercial buildings, education institutions and RWAs will be required to have reserved parking spaces for EVs with charging facilities.
  • 30 percent of dedicated parking spaces for EVs in new public parking lots in the city.

Assistance for EV charging

  • The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) has already fixed Rs 4 per unit and Rs 100 as a fixed monthly charge on electricity bill for EV charging stations.
  • 30 percent subsidy on installation of home chargers
  • 15 percent subsidy for charging infrastructure companies, who wish to install charging stations at public places.
  • The UT administration will build dedicated lanes for EV charging in every sector of the city.
  • Provision for charging spots will be made mandatory in all commercial buildings such as hotels, shopping malls and technology parks.
  • Amendment to building and construction laws will be made to ensure the charging infrastructure is integrated at the planning stage itself for all new constructions.

The Department of Transport, Chandigarh, will be the nodal department for the implementation of Chandigarh EV Policy. An EV Steering committee will also be constituted under the chairmanship of adviser to the Administrator, Chandigarh to suggest measures for the implementation of the policy.

The committee will look into measures to support the acceleration of EV uptake in Chandigarh; make a stakeholder group for procurement of EVs for government use; ensure that systems for charging and payment are as accessible and user-friendly as possible; propose a number of places on streets in the city where charging points for electric vehicles can be located without major disruption to road-users, street cleaning and waste collection services; and study best practices all around the world for deployment of EVs.

Also read: Top 10 Cars to arrive in 2020

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