Govt plans incentives to scrap 60 lakh polluting 2-wheelers, boost e-vehicles

NEW DELHI: At least 60 lakh BS-II and BS-III two-wheelers are likely to be scrapped in the Capital as the first step in the roll-out of the Delhi government’s ambitious electric vehicles policy, a draft of which is in the public domain for feedback.

The policy aims at ensuring that 25% of all new vehicles registered in the city should be electric by 2023. Officials said the policy, the draft of which was released on November 28, is expected to be notified in January next year.

“Two-wheelers comprise the majority of vehicles in the city. We will start by giving incentives for scrapping these polluting vehicles to help people buy an electric two-wheeler. On average, the per km cost of running an e-two wheeler will come to about ₹20 paise. Comparatively, a two-wheeler run on petrol has a mileage of ₹1-1.5 per km. Besides, the maintenance cost will also be less compared to vehicles run on conventional fuels,” said Jasmine Shah, vicechairman, Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, Delhi government.

With zero emissions and low running cost, e-vehicles can turn out to be the most environmentally and economically viable options of transport, said Shah.

The draft policy proposes a scrapping incentive of up to R 15,000 on old BS-II and BS-III two-wheelers. Also, it proposes a subsidy of up to R22,000 on purchase of electric two-wheelers to ensure their cost is less than or equal to petrol-run twowheelers.

Bharat Stage (BS) norms are standards for vehicular emissions. The norms lay down the permissible levels of pollutants for vehicle exhaust.

According to a 2015 study of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), two-wheelers contribute to around 31% of the total vehicular pollution.

The next step in implementing the policy would be planning and setting up charging infrastructure for both public and private e-vehicles. “We have already had preliminary discussions with power distribution companies and civic bodies for setting up charging infrastructure. We have also identified some places such as West Vinod Nagar and Burari where public charging conduits could be set up. Once the policy is notified, work will start on this aspect,” Shah said.

As per the draft policy, public charging stations would be set up at public parking zones, depots and terminals and at fuel stations. Private charging sta- tions will come up at residential and commercial buildings including malls, streets and markets.

“Finding land for setting up public charging infrastructure is a major challenge,” Shah said.

The government plans to hold a mega consultation event of all stakeholders, including citizens groups, experts, auto and taxi unions and RWAS, on December 18 to discuss policy implementation.

Experts said incentives to scrap polluting two-wheelers will encourage people to switch over to electric vehicles. “Announcing incentives could be a good start to implement the policy. The low running cost of e-vehicles will also encourage people with newer models to switch over,” said Ravindra Kumar, head of transportation planning and environment at CSIR-CRRI.