Project Parivartan: MCG to hold special EV camp for auto-owners in Gurugram from today

At the camp, officials of MCG and the transport department said they will help autorickshaw owners get in touch with EV manufacturers to purchase the vehicles, and speak to bank representatives to get easy loans

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) will hold a special camp at its Sector 42 office from Thursday to encourage autorickshaw owners to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) by providing them with government subsidies and scrap value for old vehicles.

Officials said the camp is being held under the aegis of Project Parivartan, which aims to promote the use of e-autorickshaws in the city by replacing diesel and petrol autos, in accordance with a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which states that diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years cannot ply in the NCR. (Representative image/Bloomberg Archive)

At the camp, officials of MCG and the transport department said they will help autorickshaw owners get in touch with EV manufacturers to purchase the vehicles, and speak to bank representatives to get easy loans.

Officials said the camp is being held under the aegis of Project Parivartan, which aims to promote the use of e-autorickshaws in the city by replacing diesel and petrol autos, in accordance with a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which states that diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years cannot ply in the NCR.

MCG’s public relations officer Satbir Rohilla said at least 200 autorickshaw owners are expected to apply either to purchase a new EV or replace their old conventional vehicle with an EV on Thursday. He said there are around 18,000 autorickshaws registered in Gurugram.

The Haryana auto driver’s union state general secretary Yogesh Sharma, however, said they were concerned about EV chargers being expensive. “Each one costs around ₹20,000. If a charger malfunctions due to a power surge or any other issue, an e-auto owner won’t be able to save much money. We need charging facilities,” he said.

MCG commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja said the government is focussing on increasing the number of charging stations for EVs at fuel pumps, malls and commercial buildings across the city. At present, such stations are functional at the MCG office in Sector 42, the fire station in Sector 29 and the community centre in Sector 27.