The UT administration finally buckled to the pressure from residents and automobile dealers as it proposed to allow registration of 1,600 more fuel-based two-wheelers in the city. The final approval for this is to be given by UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday.
The administration had on October 6 closed the portal for registration of fuel-based two-wheelers after exhausting the yearly quota of 12,076.
In a meeting of the Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology (CREST), held under the chairmanship of UT adviser Dharam Pal, on Tuesday, it was proposed to relax the capping on registration of two-wheelers and also allow registration of 17,000 four-wheelers, instead of the previously fixed target of 15,465, for the current financial year.
It was also sought to remove the capping on all compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and allow its registration throughout the year.
The traders, however, were not impressed as they said that the proposed relaxation will be of no help to them. They pointed out that considering that there are 10 two-wheeler dealers in the city, each of them can only sell a maximum of 120 more non-EV two-wheelers. They said that in the festive season, the 1,600-vehicle quota will be exhausted in less than three days.
The UT had revised its electric vehicle (EV) policy in July as well, reducing the registration target for electric two-wheelers as against fuel-based ones, to 25% for the current financial year.
{{/usCountry}}The UT had revised its electric vehicle (EV) policy in July as well, reducing the registration target for electric two-wheelers as against fuel-based ones, to 25% for the current financial year.
{{/usCountry}}To dissuade people from buying vehicles that cause pollution, the UT plans to gradually stop registering fuel-run vehicles through its Electric Vehicle (EV) policy that was rolled out in September 2022.
The UT’s vigorous push to promote electric vehicles has come under criticism from several quarters, mainly because it has little to show when it comes to infrastructure required to make green vehicles a viable option. With not a single charging station in the city being functional, the owners of over 4,000 electric vehicles registered in the city over the past five years, are forced to rely on home electricity before heading out on their commute.
In the past five years, EVs accounted for less than 1% of all vehicles sold in the city, as shared by Union minister of state for heavy industries Krishan Pal Gurjar in the Lok Sabha in July.