Plans afoot to set up 10 electric vehicle charging stations in Ludhiana

Officials directed to identify 10 suitable locations where EV charging stations can be set up in partnership with a private firm

Hoping to reduce vehicular pollution by encouraging the use of electric vehicles (EV), authorities are working on establishing 10 EV charging stations in the city.

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Principal secretary of the state transport department, Kakumanu Siva Prasad, and state transport commissioner Amarpal Singh held a meeting in this regard with officials of the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC) and district transport department through video conferencing on Friday.

Officials were directed to identify 10 suitable locations where EV charging stations can be set up in partnership with a private firm.

Ludhiana is among the 122 non-attainment cities in the country according to the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) norms. This means it has over a five-year period not consistently met the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for harmful PM 10 (particulate matter that is 10 microns or less in diameter), PM 2.5 or NO2 (nitrogen dioxide).

Stating that a survey for the locations will be started soon, MC additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said, “Residents are increasingly switching to EVs, including e-bikes, rickshaws and cars, for which public EV charging stations are needed. After the suitable locations are identified, a private firm will be hired to set these up through revenue-sharing model. A nominal fee will be charged from the users.”