2nd round of consultation on electric vehicle policy to deal with infra issues

State transport minister Krishan Lal Panwar on Saturday said that the next round will take place by next month.

The process to formulate a policy for the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in Haryana has finally got off the ground with the state government completing the first round of consultation with the stakeholders recently.

An electric vehicle at a charging point in a residential condominium in Gurugram. (parveen kumar/representational image)

State transport minister Krishan Lal Panwar on Saturday said that the next round, which is likely to take place by next month, will deal with infrastructure issues.

“The central government is focused on promoting the adoption of EVs. We are in the process of formulating a policy. The second round of meetings has to take place between the transport department and the department of industries and commerce to look at issues like charging points, road tax on EVs as well as the required infrastructure,” Panwar said.

On July 17, Abhay Damle, joint secretary, union ministry of road transport, issued an advisory asking states to create preferential policies to adopt EVs through other incentives such as land allotment for charging infrastructure, mandating charging infrastructure in malls, housing societies and office complexes, in addition to public parking spaces.

Haryana is relatively late on the scene, as Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala had introduced an EV policy last year. Delhi’s policy included features such as waiving road tax, registration fee and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s one-time parking fee for all EVs that are eligible for the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME-India) scheme, providing accessible public charging facilities within a range of three kilometres, and establishing an ecosystem to recycle batteries, among other policy features.

Earlier this month, the state’s urban local bodies’ minister, Kavita Jain, had said after visiting Poland that the Haryana government would establish an environment-friendly transportation system in Gurugram on the pattern of Poland.

In the first phase, 75 to 100 electric buses would be operated.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, the Municipal Corporation Gurugram, and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) would bear 50%, 40% and 10% of the cost of the project, respectively.