Chandigarh Administration Reviews Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 to Combat Climate Change

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Sh. Dharam Pal, Adviser to the Administrator, in the presence of Sh. Anup Gupta, Mayor of Chandigarh, Sh. Nitin Yadav, Home Secretary, Sh. VN Zade, Finance Secretary, and other officers of Chandigarh Administration to review the Electric Vehicle Policy.

The "Electric Vehicle Policy, 2022" was approved to make Chandigarh a 'Model EV City' by achieving one of the highest penetrations of zero-emission vehicles within the policy period of five years. The policy aims to mitigate the environmental impact caused by conventional vehicles and establish Chandigarh as a leading Electric Vehicle City.

In order to encourage people to transition from conventional vehicles to electric vehicles and reduce their carbon footprint, various targets were set by the Chandigarh Administration, which were further reviewed by the officials today. These proposed targets will be sent to the Administrator, Chandigarh, for final approval.

After extensive deliberations, new and flexible targets have been proposed under different categories of electric vehicles for the year 2023-2024:

1. Targets for the e-2 wheeler category of vehicles have been substantially relaxed, from the existing target of 70% to 25%. In the e-3 wheeler (goods) category, the target has been reduced from 40% to 35%, while in the e-4W goods vehicles category, the target has been reduced from 40% to 15%. The target for e-Buses has been reduced from 50% to 25%.

2. No changes have been made to the existing target for e-commercial cars, as the target of 20% has already been achieved.

3. In the case of e-personal cars, the double target of 20% has been achieved, surpassing the original goal of 10%. The revised targets have been slightly increased by 5% to 25% for the year 2024.

4. The existing cap of Rs 20,00,000 on ex-showroom prices of e-4 wheeler vehicles will be removed, but the cap on incentives (1.5 lacs) will remain unchanged as proposed in the policy.

5. It has also been decided that from now on, all Government Departments/Local Bodies will only purchase electric vehicles, with prior approvals in case of any exceptions.

6. The subsidy for e-bicycles has been increased from 25% of the cost, capped at Rs 3000, to Rs. 4,000.

7. The installation of 53 charging stations at multiple locations, with a total of 418 charging points will also be done

These measures aim to encourage citizens to embrace electric vehicles, reduce their carbon footprint, and work towards making Chandigarh a carbon-neutral city.