Taking forward the 'Switch Delhi' campaign, the Delhi government on Thursday, 25 February, ordered all its departments to replace all hired fuel vehicles with electric vehicles within the next six months.
An order in this regard issued by the Special Secretary (Finance), Delhi government, stated, "In pursuance of Clause 4.6.2 of the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, 2020, notified by Government of NCT of Delhi dated 7/8/2020 of Transport Department GNCT of Delhi, the competent authority has decided that all departments, autonomous bodies and grantee institution of the government of NCT of Delhi shall shift their existing hired petrol/diesel/CNG vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) through a lease/hiring model within a time frame of six months and procure new electric vehicles against condemnable IC Engine Vehicles."
It has also been informed that the transport department of Delhi will be the nodal body to monitor the progress of the transition from existing diesel/petrol vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. It will also be necessary for all the departments to produce monthly action reports on the transition to EVs by the fifth of every month to the nodal department.
Commenting on the development, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, said that over 2,000 petrol and diesel vehicles will be replaced with electric vehicles.
"It is the dream of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to make Delhi a pollution-free city. The decision that all government departments will shift to electric vehicles is a historic one. Delhi will be the capital of the world where all government departments switch to electric vehicles for road travel," Sisodia said.
"The people of Delhi have time and again made efforts towards making our environment, our city green and clean. Switching to electric vehicles will be another effort that all of us together, as citizens of Delhi, will take to ensure that we continue this fight towards sustainability," he added.
Switch Delhi is an eight-week awareness campaign to sensitise people in the city about the benefits of switching to EVs.
The Delhi EV policy, announced in August last year, envisages that 25 percent of all new vehicle registrations should be Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) by 2024.
The policy gives a subsidy of Rs 10,000 per kWh to the first 1,000 e-cars or electric four-wheelers, with a capping of Rs 150,000 per vehicle. A subsidy of Rs 5,000 per kWh of the battery capacity up to Rs 30,000 is also to be given on the purchase of each electric two-wheeler, auto-rickshaw, rickshaw and freight vehicle. To push people to shift to EVs, the policy also has a "scrapping incentive" for those who make the switch.
(This story has been published in an arrangement with IANS.)
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