Space for EV stations in parking lots: Chandigarh admn sets 3-day deadline for MC to comply
Through an August 28 letter, the Chandigarh administration had told MC to allot space within 10 days, but MC never acted on it
With the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) failing to act on UT administration’s August 28 letter to allocate space for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in its parking lots within 10 days, the civic body has been given a fresh deadline of September 22.
Through a reminder letter sent on September 19, the UT local body department wrote, “The civic body is again requested to expedite and send the complete requisite compliance report in the matter within a period of three days positively to process the case further.”
The MC-UT stand-off on the matter has been going on since July, when UT’s Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) had first requested MC to allow installation of EV charging stations and battery swapping stations at 44 parking lots in the city.
But in the July 25 House meeting, the councillors had rejected the agenda, stating that instead of 50% revenue, CREST should have offered 100% revenue to MC as it is their space and revenue loss will be faced if the space allotted for parking will be used for setting charging stations.
“Also, UT had not sought recommendations from the House before drafting the EV policy,” the councillors and mayor Anup Gupta had said.
Subsequently, through an official letter on August 28, the UT local body department had said, “Allot space in the paid parking lots to install the EV charging stations, as per the UT’s EV policy. Also, you are directed to send the compliance report within 10 days, as per the directions given by the administration under Section 405 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, as extended to the Union territory of Chandigarh.”
The notice had clearly mentioned that it has been sent with the approval of UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit. However, MC has remained silent ever since.
The mayor and MC commissioner Anindita Mitra were not available for a comment on Wednesday.
Notably, the city has 89 parking lots that are divided into two zones. Zone 1 comprises parking lots in the southern and eastern sectors, including Sectors 20, 26 and 34. Meanwhile, Zone 2 includes northern areas, such as Sectors 7, 8, 9, 17, 22 and Sukhna Lake.
CREST is the nodal agency for implementing UT’s EV policy, aimed at making Chandigarh a “Model EV City” by achieving zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) among all Indian cities by the end of the five-year policy period.
Notified in September 2022, the policy aims to mitigate the environmental impact caused by conventional vehicles and establish Chandigarh as a leading EV city.
Currently, Chandigarh has only eight charging stations with 48 charging points that were set up in 2018 under Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.
Under the UT policy, EV owners charging their vehicles at home pay domestic power rates, while those charging at public stations are charged ₹8 per unit for slow or medium charging, ₹10 per unit for fast charging and ₹11 per unit for battery swapping.
Incentives in place to promote EVs
To promote EVs, the administration has waived registration fee and road tax for five years, while owners of vehicles running on conventional fuels have to pay both.
Also an incentive ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹2 lakh is being offered for up to 42,000 vehicles of different categories, including 25,000 e-cycles, 10,000 e-bikes and 3,000 e-cars, purchased between September 20, 2022, and September 19, 2027.
The incentive is available for EVs bought anywhere across the country, but only permanent residents of Chandigarh are eligible for it.
