Green push: Delhi govt to lease only e-vehicles
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that his government will, in the next six months, change its policy to lease only electric cars as part of an effort to accelerate the adoption of electric cars in the Capital.
Kejriwal made the announcement at the launch of a new campaign -- Switch Delhi -- to spread awareness about the subsidies provided by the city administration on electric vehicles (EVS). The Delhi government currently leases more than 1,000 cars.
Addressing a digital press conference, Kejriwal said vehicles are one of the main contributors of air pollution in the national Capital, which suffers from a chronic bad air problem. The Delhi EV policy, announced in August last year, envisages that 25% of all new vehicle registrations should be Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVS) by 2024.
“We have to make EVS a jan andolan (mass movement) now. So, we are launching the Switch Delhi campaign today to create awareness about EVS. The idea is to convince people to switch from their current vehicles to EVS, which have zero emissions. I also urge the youth, who are looking to buy their first car or bike, to go for an EV as the Delhi government is giving huge subsidies and there is no road tax or registration charges,” Kejriwal added.
The subsidies are based on battery capacity – ₹10,000 per kwh to the first 1,000 e-cars or electric four wheelers, with a cap of ₹150,000 per vehicle. Of the over 6,000 EVS (that include e-rickshaws, two-wheelers and cars) registered in the city since the policy was announced last year, only 2,653 have received the subsidies so far, data seen by HT showed. This data did not specify how many subsidies went to electric cars, but officials familiar with the matter said, “Due to the high cost involved, electric cars constitute the least of all EV sales in the city, and so, a significant proportion of subsidy on cars remains unused.”
The government also announced a subsidy of ₹5,000 per kwh of the battery capacity up to a maximum of ₹30,000 for purchases of electric two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, rickshaws and freight vehicles. The government also announced a scrapping incentive for those who make the switch -- essentially paying them for their old vehicles. The incentive, ranging from ₹5,000- ₹7,500, is offered subject to evidence of matching contribution from the dealer or (Original Equipment Manufacturer) as per the policy.
The chief minister also announced that the government will soon ask for bids to set up 100 charging stations across Delhi.
The Capital currently has 72 charging stations that are managed by the government, civic bodies and private power distribution companies.
A senior transport department official said that a centralised tendering system will be adopted to hire an energy operator to run, maintain and upgrade charging stations. “Land-owning agencies will be required to provide land for the installation of public EV charging stations,” the official added.
Kejriwal urged companies having a large fleet of vehicles to shift to EVS. “I request resident welfare associations (RWAS), market associations and delivery fleets to participate in the campaign to promote the use of EVS and switch to such vehicles. The Switch Delhi campaign also seeks to convince companies, malls, cinema halls, restaurants... to get charging stations installed,” he said.
Kejriwal said around 6,000 EVS have been bought in Delhi since the city’s EV policy was announced. Thus far, the government has paid out ₹9 crore in subsidies.
On August 7 last year, Kejriwal announced the Delhi EV Policy 2020, with a focus on increasing the adoption of electric vehicles by incentivising the purchase of EVS. The target was to register 500,000 EVS in the city by 2024. Currently, around 122,000 electric vehicles are registered in the Capital, of which the majority are e-rickshaws.
There are 150 models of EVS available in Delhi, with the least expensive car starting at a price of around ₹900,000.
“This zero emissions mandate is needed to cut air pollution... But firm milestones are needed for time bound implementation. This move is an important message for green recovery post pandemic,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment.