E-Paper
Chandigarh: All non-EV 2-wheeler slots full, no more registrations till April
Customers present at automobile dealerships to collect booked two-wheelers returned empty handed as UT shut down registration portal around 2 pm
The UT administration on Sunday stalled registration of non-electric two-wheelers after the annual target of such vehicles permitted in 2023 under the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy was met.
Now, only electric two-wheelers will be registered in the city till April 2024, until when any bookings for non-electric two-wheelers cannot be realised.
Of the total 13,685 non-electric two-wheelers allowed under the policy this year, only 43 slots were available as of Saturday and were taken by 2 pm on Sunday, following which the registration portal was closed, leaving customers present at dealerships to collect their booked vehicles befuddled.
On October 18, amending the EV Policy, the administration had brought down the registration target for electric two-wheelers to 15%, from the previous 25%, for financial year 2023-24.
As a result, the number of permitted non-electric two-wheelers was bumped up from 12,076 to 13,685 — opening 1,609 more registration slots, which were exhausted in just 11 days.
In the case of fuel-run four-wheelers, new registrations will not be done after their number reaches 17,000 that the Registering and Licensing Authority expects will happen by November.
With Dhanteras on November 10 just 12 days away, two days before Diwali, a period considered auspicious for buying new vehicles and property, automobile sellers are hoping for the UT administrator to intervene and provide some relief.
Around 20,000 non-electric two-wheelers are sold each year in Chandigarh — around 1,600 each month — of which 4,000 vehicles are bought in the festive season alone.
Nishant Sharma, who was at a motorcycle dealership in Industrial Area, Phase 1, to purchase a Bajaj Pulsar, expressed disappointment: “I had already made the payment and they were in the process of registration, when the portal suddenly went unavailable. I had been planning to buy my dream bike for the past three months. Now, I will have to wait till next year. Meanwhile, the dealership will provide me a refund.”
Ram Kumar Garg, finance secretary of the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association, Chandigarh, said, it will be a black Diwali for automobile dealers: “We request UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit to intervene in the matter.”
City mayor Anup Gupta said, “The UT administration’s move is not acceptable, especially during the festival season. We will be holding a meeting on Monday and chalk out the next course of action.”
Chandigarh Congress president HS Lucky urged the UT administrator not to stop registration of petrol and diesel vehicles till electric charging stations are fully installed and functional.
UT had rolled out its EV Policy in September 2022, applicable for five years, during which it plans to gradually stop registering conventional vehicles to dissuade people from buying vehicles that cause pollution.
But it has been under fire from various quarters for lack of public charging infrastructure, a key enabler for large-scale EV adoption. With no functional charging stations in the city, owners of over 7,000 EVs registered in the past five years are compelled to rely on home electricity before commencing their daily commute. Currently, it is in the process of installing public charging stations at parking lots to enable visitors to charge their vehicle while it is parked.
