Electric Vehicle Policy gets Delhi Cabinet nod

New Delhi: The Delhi Cabinet on Monday gave approval to an Electric Vehicle Policy with an aim to reduce air pollution and generate employment in the transportation sector.

The Delhi CM said, "We aim to transform the national Capital into the EV Capital of India. Vehicles are the biggest source of pollution in the capital and amount to 40 per cent of PM2.5 air pollution levels and 80 per cent of carbon monoxide in the air."

Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2019 aims to induct electric vehicles which shall contribute to 25 per cent of the newly registered vehicles across Delhi. Under the policy the emphasis is laid on two-wheelers, public transport and shared vehicles, and goods-carriers.

Kejriwal said, "We hope that 35,000 electric vehicles will be inducted in Delhi within the next one year, and 250 charging stations will be constructed across the city. We also hope that within the next five years, five lakh electric vehicles will be registered in Delhi. Over their lifetime, these electric vehicles are estimated to save approximately Rs 6,000 crores worth of oil and liquid natural gas consumption. They will also avoid emissions of 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, which is equivalent to avoiding CO2 emissions from nearly one lakh petrol cars over their lifetime. They will also help avoid about 159 tonnes of PM 2.5 emissions."

The Delhi government will provide a subsidy of Rs 5,000 per kWh of battery capacity on the purchase of two-wheelers. Scrapping incentive up to Rs 5,000 will be offered for the scrapping of a non-electric two-wheeler vehicle and switching to an electric vehicle. All two-wheelers engaged in last-mile deliveries, such as food delivery vehicles, courier services, and e-commerce logistics, will be expected to transition

50 per cent of their fleet to e-vehicle by March 2023, and 100 per cent by March 2025, the CM added.

Kejriwal said, "The purchase subsidy of four-wheeler is Rs 10,000 per kWh of battery capacity for the first 1,000 cars which will be subject to a cap of Rs 1,50,000 per vehicle. All leased or hired cars used for the commute of GNCTD officers will be transitioned to electric vehicles within a period of one year. The Delhi government also aims to transition 50 per cent of the newly purchased buses into electric buses by the year 2024 and 100 per cent by the year 2030. There will be no road tax on registration fees on electric vehicles."

The CM said, "Workplace and residential parking will have 20 per cent of the parking or vehicle holding capacity as EV enabled. The

Delhi government will provide a 100 per cent subsidy for the purchase of charging equipment up to Rs 6,000 per charging point for the first 30,000 charging points at homes or workplaces." For the policy implementation, a dedicated EV cell will be established within the Transport Department for the effective day-to-day implementation of the Delhi State EV Policy.