After 3 months of delays, the Chandiagrh MC finally approved the installation of charging and battery swapping stations for electric vehicles (EVs) at its 32 parking lots today. In fact, UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit gave MC a week to allot space in its 44 parking lots on October 25. As a result, the MC House decided to form a committee to assess its feasibility at its October 17 meeting.
The committee, comprised of Mayor Anup Gupta, councillors, civic body officials from the Buildings and Roads (B&R) department, CREST members, and Market Welfare Associations (MWA), met on Monday. Furthermore, they approved the installation of the charging stations in 32 parking lots around the city, mostly at large markets.
Charging stations and Developments in Future
We cleared the sites today, said Mayor Anup Gupta, with a few modifications to the parking areas. Furthermore, the company has requested that it receive 100% of the deal’s proceeds. In a committee meeting, the MC decided to send recommendations to the UT Administration in this regard on or before November 2.
After that meeting, they will install charging stations in 32 parking lots, with 96% of them located in markets. Additionally, they will install 177 charging ports across the city’s EV charging stations in the coming months.
The move is in line with recent directives from UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit. He has asked the civic body to complete all formalities within a week for the setting up of charging stations in parking lots.
In August, the administration wrote to the MC, stating that they had issued directions for approving charging station installation sites under Section 405 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976. After all, the administration had required them to meet the requirements within 10 days, or the administration would start the work. It included councillors Jasmanpreet Singh and Sachin Galav, nominated councillor Umesh Ghai, Beopar Mandal chief Charanjiv Singh, and CREST project manager Parul Gazta.
Why Are Charging Stations Required Right Now?
The September 2022 Electric Vehicle Policy, aimed at promoting eco-friendly transportation, faces criticism due to the lack of public charging stations. In fact, this lack of infrastructure affects the daily commute of over 7,000 EV owners who must rely on home charging. Additionally, the UT administration’s plan to halt non-electric vehicle registrations after reaching annual EV adoption targets has drawn widespread criticism. In short, this criticism comes from both consumers and automobile dealers.
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