For EV infra push, Delhi govt sets up district-level panels

The government has set a target of installing 18,000 EV points in the Capital by 2025 with land availability being one of the biggest challenges

New Delhi: In a bid to speed up the installation of public electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the Capital, the Delhi government has formed 11 separate committees at the district level with the purpose of identifying lands where public charging points can be set up.

An official said the capital currently has around 4,000 public and semi-public charging infrastructure which includes those installed at malls, hotels, hospitals, and marketplaces. (Image for representation)

The government has set a target of installing 18,000 EV points in the Capital by 2025 with land availability being one of the biggest challenges in the expansion of EV infrastructure.

“The committees are under the watch of the district magistrates and consist of government officials. The committees will explore the locations where EV charging points can be set up,” said a transport department official.

The charging infrastructure will be set up by the transport department, distribution companies, fleet operators and others on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis.

HT recently reported that the Delhi transport department was going to make a district-wise plan to upgrade the EV charging infrastructure across the city.

An official said the capital currently has around 4,000 public and semi-public charging infrastructure which includes those installed at malls, hotels, hospitals, and marketplaces.

“The government is working to encourage the switch to electric vehicles which will play a major role in decarbonizing mobility in the capital. One of the strongest pushes to EV can be made by providing a large number of charging points. If enough charging points are available in the capital, more and more people will be encouraged to switch over to electric vehicles,” said the official.

In August 2020, when the Delhi government launched its ambitious EV policy, the share of EVs in the total number of vehicles sold in the capital was 1.2%. By March this year, that share went up to 14.7%.

According to EV sales figures between February-April 2023, a total of 18,397 EVs have been sold. In February, 5,268 EVs were sold, the number surged to 7,964 in March while in April the number was 5,165. Among EVs, the demand for motorcycles and scooters is the highest.

Even as this indicates that a large portion of the population might be shifting towards electric mobility, the shift has, however, been slow.