It’s official, Chandigarh relaxes cap on non-EV registrations

It was also decided that once the target set for EVs (applicable for all categories) is achieved, the ICE vehicles’ registration will again be allowed beyond its capping in the said financial year

It’s official, the UT administration has relaxed the capping on registration of internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles, or simply non-electric vehicles. As per the amended EV Policy, a notification for which was issued on Wednesday, the administration has brought down the registration target for electric two-wheelers to 15%, from the previous 25%, for the financial year 2023-24. Similarly, the target for registration of electric cars (personal) has been reduced to 12% from the previous 25%. This translates into an increased quota for registration of ICE vehicles.

The amended EV Policy will come into force with immediate effect. (Shutterstock)

The amended EV Policy will come into force with immediate effect.

It was also decided that once the target set for EVs (applicable for all categories) is achieved, the ICE vehicles’ registration will again be allowed beyond its capping in the said financial year. The administration also said it was decided that there will be no capping on registration of CNG (Compress Natural Gas) vehicles and these will be accounted for separately in the database.

Also, parking will be free for all EVs across Chandigarh.

As per the revised policy, now 1,600 more non-electric two-wheelers can be registered till March 31 next year. Also, registration of 17,000 four-wheelers, instead of the previously fixed target of 15,465, has been allowed for the current financial year.

On October 6, the administration had stopped the registration of two-wheelers running on ICE on hitting the target fixed for 2023-24 in the revised EV Policy.

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. 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.