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Finally, Chandigarh admn rolls out six EV charging stations
The six charging stations are located at Sector 44-C, Sector 44-D, Sector 43-B, Sector 7, Manimajra and Lake Sport Club
After around 18 months of work, the UT administration has finally made six electric vehicle (EV) charging stations operational, ending the long wait for EV owners.
However, this comes after missing two earlier deadlines to make all 53 charging stations available to the public.
Originally, during a press conference on March 8, Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit had announced that all 53 charging stations would be functional by the end of the month. This deadline was later extended to the end of April, and now, only six charging stations have been made operational, with the rest expected to be energised in another month.
According to officials from the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), which is the nodal agency for implementing the administration’s EV Policy, the six operational charging stations are located at Sector 44-C, Sector 44-D, Sector 43-B, Sector 7, Manimajra and Lake Sport Club. These stations have a total of 30 charging guns and an equal number of vehicles can be charged simultaneously.
The delayed approvals from various departments and an impasse between the local municipal corporation and the UT administration over the installation of charging stations in parking lots of markets contributed to the delay, they said.
Additionally, theft of costly equipment from unguarded EV charging stations across the city also exacerbated the delay. To address this, the installation agency has been instructed to install CCTV cameras and hire security guards for surveillance.
Notably, despite introduction of the EV Policy in September 2022, the city lacked a single functional charging station, crucial for large-scale EV adoption. This left owners of over 8,000 EVs relying on home electricity before heading out on their commute.
