The Delhi government has decided to build electric vehicle charging stations at all government offices in the national capital. To make Delhi the "Electric Vehicle Capital of India," the government says all the requirements will be ready in three months.
Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said government employees will be able to charge their electric vehicles (EVs) during work hours. "Electric vehicles are being promoted rapidly throughout Delhi to implement the vision of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. In Delhi, electric vehicle charging stations are being built speedily," he said, adding that these stations will now be installed in all government offices. "The general public, in addition to government employees, will also be able to charge their vehicles here," the minister added.
According to the order issued by the Delhi government, all departments under it must identify suitable locations and install public charging stations on their premises. Within three months, electric vehicle charging stations will be installed in all government buildings, it said. A subsidy of Rs 6,000 per charging point will be provided for the establishment of an electric vehicle charging station through a discom-impanelled vendor, it said.
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The transport department, in collaboration with Delhi discoms, has established a single point of contact. The single window process can be used to install EV chargers from discom-impanelled vendors at reduced and low tariffs. "All heads of departments are hereby directed to ensure the installation of the EV charging stations at the premises of the respective government buildings, especially those offices with high public dealings within 3 months for promoting electric mobility," stated the transport department order issued on February 8.
The government office that installs the chargers will get the subsidy and will not have to separately raise any further claim. The vendors can claim the subsidy through the Electric Vehicle Fund. A guidebook to assess the EV charging needs of the department/institution in terms of the number of chargers has been uploaded on the government website.
The departments, autonomous bodies, local bodies, and institutions of the Delhi government will intimate the installation of such chargers to the EV cell of the transport department, the order stated. In the September-November quarter, electric vehicle sales in Delhi outperformed the sales of CNG and diesel vehicles, an official statement said.
In September and November 2021, EV sales in Delhi increased by 9.2 percent. CNG vehicle sales, on the other hand, fell by 6.5 percent in November. During this time, a total of 9,540 electric vehicles were sold. In September, 2,873 were sold, 3,275 in October, and 3,392 vehicles in November. Following fuel-based vehicles in the list, electric vehicle sales have risen to second place, it said.
With inputs from PTI
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