Revisiting Electric Vehicle Policy: Chandigarh Administration to study vehicle preferences of residents

Tribune News Service

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Chandigarh, November 21

In a proactive move towards sustainable mobility, the UT Administration is set to study the preferences of residents regarding vehicle purchase before considering amendments to the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy.

Purohit to take final call

The aim is to analyse the trends and inclinations of residents when it comes to vehicle choices. Once the data is studied, a decision will be made regarding potential amendments to the existing EV Policy. However, the final decision on any policy changes will be taken by UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit.

Nitin Yadav, UT Adviser-cum-Home Secretary, has instructed the authorities concerned to compile data on the registration of electric, non-electric and hybrid vehicles in the city.

The Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA), the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) and the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) have been tasked with gathering information on the types of vehicles registered in the city. These include electric, non-electric and hybrid vehicles.

The aim is to analyse the trends and inclinations of residents when it comes to vehicle choices. Once the data is studied, a decision will be made regarding potential amendments to the existing EV Policy. However, the final decision on any policy changes will be taken by UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit.

The administration has already lifted the capping on the registration of non-electric two-wheelers till November 27.

The administration’s focus on understanding resident preferences would ensure that the policy aligns with the needs and choices of the residents, said an official.

Member of Parliament Kirron Kher and Mayor Anup Gupta yesterday flayed the restrictions imposed on the registration of non-electric two-wheelers under the EV Policy.

They both stated that there should be no restriction on the registration of fuel-based vehicles and no quota should be fixed for such vehicles.

After halting the registration of non-electric two-wheelers on October 29 on achieving the revised target, the administration had on November 8 decided to resume the registration of non-EV two-wheelers till Gurpurb (November 27).

The administration had stopped the registration of fuel-based two-wheelers on October 29 upon reaching the additional quota of 1,609 such vehicles fixed for 2023-24 in the revised EV policy.

The city has 10 automobile dealers who collectively sell around 20,000 non-electric two-wheelers annually, nearly 1,600 each month. During the festival season, this number surges to around 4,000 a month. Earlier, the Administration had revised the EV Policy on October 18, the quota for registration of non-electric two-wheelers was extended by 1,609 units for the financial year.

The RLA had stopped the registration of fuel-based two-wheelers on achieving the target fixed for 2023-24 in the EV Policy on October 6.

According to the target, only 12,076 two-wheelers running on petrol had to be registered in the city till March 31 next year. However, the target was achieved on October 6 and after that, their registration was stopped.

The UT Administration rolled out the EV Policy on September 20, 2022, to make Chandigarh a “Model EV City” by achieving one of the highest penetrations of zero-emission vehicles within the policy period of five years.

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