Centre seeks status report on electric vehicles from UT
CHANDIGARH: The Union government has asked the Chandigarh administration about the steps initiated to promote electric vehicles in the city.
The Centre has already framed a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan aimed at promoting hybrid and electric vehicles across the country.
A senior UT official said they will soon submit the report about the steps taken by different departments in this regard.
Recently, the UT electricity department succeeded in getting the nod of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for fixing power tariff plan for electric vehicle charging stations in Chandigarh, the official said, adding that this was for the first time that the power tariff plan for electric vehicle charging stations was fixed, he added.
The UT electricity department in its petition had proposed a power tariff plan for electric vehicle charging stations, which the UT administration has planned to set up in different parts of the city. In its latest order, the power regulatory commission had fixed Rs 4 per unit as the tariff for vehicle charging stations. Besides, the commission has also fixed Rs 100 as fixed monthly charge on electricity bill of vehicle charging stations.
The UT administration is already working on promoting hybrid and electric vehicles. Two years ago, a team of transport department had visited Nagpur to study charging stations set up in different parts of the city. Nagpur is the first city to have electric vehicle charging stations.
Chandigarh has the highest density of vehicles in India with around 12 lakh registered vehicles, including both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. The number of vehicles per house on an average is two and has led to a sharp deterioration in the quality of air.
To cut down on pollution levels, Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) will induct electric buses in its fleet. The ministry of urban development has given a green light to CTU to purchase 20 buses in the first phase.
One bus will cost around Rs 5 crore and the central government has agreed to fund 60% of the cost of these electric buses. At present, around 3,000 e-rickshaws are plying in the city.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes
