SDMC gets 32 e-vehicles, to procure 43 more this month
NEWDELHI: Keeping with the Centre’s ambitious plan to switch all official vehicles to electric power by 2030, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) introduced a fleet of 32 electric vehicles on Thursday.
SDMC officials said the new e-vehicles will be used for official purposes and would replace official cars with internal combustion engines (ICE). The SDMC has received its first fleet of 32 e-vehicles and officials said another 43 such cars will be procured by the end of March.
“We have become the first civic body in the country to replace ICE vehicles by e-vehicles. It will help long way to reduce pollution level in city. These vehicles have been designed to protect the depleting natural resources and contain global warming,” said SDMC commissioner Puneet Goel.
SDMC officials said replacing 75 diesel vehicles with e-vehicles will save an estimated 1.65 lakh litres of fuel per annum, which would lead to the reduction in the annual emission of 2,100 tonnes carbon dioxide. The electric vehi- cles would also substantially reduce pollution and are expected to have low maintenance and operating cost.
Civic agencies are also installing electric charging stations at multiple locations. “We have set up 47 charging points for our cars at Ambedkar Stadium, at zonal offices at Green Park, Lajpat Nagar, Najafgarh and Dwarka, SDMC’S headquarters in Civic Centre (Basement 3), and other places. The cars will take 90 minutes to be fully charged with a charger,” said Shikha Rai, leader of house, SDMC. A total of 20 more charging stations are expected to become operational in the near future, Rai said.
SDMC officials said the maximum speed of these e-vehicles would 110 km per hour and it would have a range of 140 km on a fully charged battery.
“We have started the process of allotting these vehicles to our officers and the cars will be on the road in day or two. The distinct advantage that electric cars have over conventional fuel powered cars is the low running cost. An electric vehicle running for average 1,600 km in a month will save the SDMC approximately ₹64,000 per year,” said Goel.