Vinit Wahi / NEW DELHI
Delhi cabinet has given its approval to the Delhi government’s ambitious Electric Vehicle Policy, which aims to reduce pollution levels in the city and generate employment in the transportation sector.
The chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “To tackle the issue of air pollution in Delhi, the cabinet has decided to pass the Electric Vehicle Policy, which is a very ambitious policy in its scope and vision. He said, “currently, the percentage strength of electric two-wheelers is less than 0.2% and that of three-wheelers is almost zero. We hope that 35,000 electric vehicles will be inducted in Delhi within the next one year, and 250 charging stations will be constructed across the city. We also hope that within the next five years, five lakh electric vehicles will be registered in Delhi.
Over their lifetime, these electric vehicles are estimated to save approximately Rs 6,000 crores worth of oil and liquid natural gas consumption. They will also avoid emissions of 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, which is equivalent to avoiding CO2 emissions from nearly one lakh petrol cars over their lifetime. They will also help avoid about 159 tonnes of PM 2.5 emissions,” he added.
Under the EV Policy, the Delhi government is providing a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity on the purchase of two-wheelers. Scrapping incentive up to Rs. 5000 will be offered for the scrapping of a non-electric two-wheeler vehicle and switching to an electric vehicle. A special provision has been made for ride-hailing service providers such as Ola and Uber, wherein they will be allowed to operate electric two-wheeler taxis.
All two-wheelers engaged in last-mile deliveries, such as food delivery vehicles, courier services, and e-commerce logistics, will be expected to transition 50% of their fleet to electric by March 2023, and 100% of their fleet to electric by March 2025. Likewise, the purchase subsidy on electric autos, e-rickshaws, and e-carriers is up to Rs.30,000 and loans on a subsidy of 5% will be provided to them.