Chandigarh to go green, panel to draft policy on electric vehicles

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14

To go green, the UT Administration has constituted a three-member committee to prepare a draft policy on electric vehicles in the city.

To encourage plug-in electric vehicles, the UT authorities have proposed to give a number of incentives such as waiving off registration fee and road tax on the purchase of an electric vehicle.

After getting the report of the committee, suggestions and objections will be invited on the draft policy, UT Adviser Dharam Pal said, adding that Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra, Deputy Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar and Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) Chief Executive Officer Debendra Dalai would be the members of the committee.

The policy would be aimed at reducing pollution in the city by bringing down emissions from motor vehicles. The Administration would gradually improve the infrastructure to encourage sale of electric vehicles in the city.

After approval from the UT Administrator, the electric vehicle policy would be implemented for five years and thereafter revised as per changed conditions, sources in the department said.

Mooted as green fuel, the UT Administration has also planned to purchase electric vehicles for its officials.

In order to reduce air and noise pollution and dependence on fossil fuels, the UT Administration had recently completed a one-month of trial run of an electric bus in the city. After receiving 19 more electric buses on September 30, the buses will be put under operation for the general public from the first week of October. Another lot of 20 buses are likely to arrive in the city by next month and the procurement of another 40 electric buses is under process and expected to be received next year.

The Department of Heavy Industries, under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, has sanctioned 80 electric buses under Phase ll of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme. For first lot of 40 buses, an agreement has been signed with M/s Ashok Leyland for 10 years.

The procurement of the buswa will give a major boost to the plan of the UT Transport Department to replace its entire fleet of 358 diesel buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) with electric buses by 2027-2028.

Panel members

After getting a report from the committee, suggestions and objections will be invited on the draft policy, UT Adviser Dharam Pal said, adding that Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra, Deputy Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar and Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) Chief Executive Officer Debendra Dalai would be the members of the committee.

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