In a first, Delhi govt allows diesel vehicles to be retrofitted into EVs

Electric-light commercial vehicles (e-LCVs) will also be exempted from time specific route restrictions and prohibition on idle parking, which are currently applicable to all goods vehicles to reduce pollution and decongest the city.

The Delhi government on Thursday took two significant steps to boost electric vehicles (EVs) numbers in the city — one. it has allowed the conversion of old diesel vehicles into EVs so that they can be run in Delhi-NCR even after 10 years; and two, electric-light commercial vehicles (e-LCVs) will now be exempted from time specific route restrictions and prohibition on idle parking, which are currently applicable to all goods vehicles to reduce pollution and decongest the city.

Due to congestion during peak hours and increasing vehicular pollution, the movement of commercial vehicles is restricted on over 250 major roads in Delhi during “no entry” hours. Light commercial vehicles are prohibited on these roads from 7am to 11am and from 5pm to 9pm. (Picture for representation only/HT Archive)

The Delhi traffic police has also issued a circular in this regard in line with the decision of the Delhi government. Several rounds of deliberations were held with the Delhi traffic police to effectively implement the policy and finally, it has now been notified,” transport minister Kailash Gahlot said at a press briefing on Thursday.

“The L5N category three-wheeler goods carrier and N1 category goods carrier having gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes will now be allowed to ply on Delhi’s roads at any time. Since the launch of the Delhi EV policy in August last year, the sale of e-LCVs has gone up from just 46 to 1,054, which is a 95.6% hike in terms of registration. We are hopeful that today’s decisions would give a huge push to mass adoption of EVs across categories in Delhi,” the minister further said.

In a first, Delhi govt allows diesel vehicles to be retrofitted into EVs

Due to congestion during peak hours and increasing vehicular pollution, the movement of commercial vehicles is restricted on over 250 major roads in Delhi during “no entry” hours. Light commercial vehicles are prohibited on these roads from 7am to 11am and from 5pm to 9pm.

Gahlot also announced that the Delhi government is going to allow retrofitting of diesel vehicles in the city which will enable their use beyond the prescribed time span of 10 years, a first such move in the country.

“Delhi is now open to the electric retrofitting of internal combustion engines (ICEs). Diesel vehicles, if found fit, can now be converted to EVs by retrofitting. The transport department will soon empanel manufacturers of pure electric kits by approved testing agencies, so that diesel vehicles may continue plying here beyond 10 years,” Gahlot said.

Registered diesel vehicles more than 10 years old, and any vehicle over 15 years old, including petrol variants, cannot operate in Delhi-NCR, as per the orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (2015) and the Supreme Court (2018).

At least 100,000 such vehicles have been deregistered so far by the Delhi transport department. The number is pretty low as there are 3.8 million overaged vehicles in Delhi that technically cannot ply on city roads. Of these 3.8 million, 3.5 million are petrol variants that are 15 years or more older and approximately 300,000 are diesel vehicles that are 10 years or more older.