New Delhi:
The second week of the Kejriwal government’s ‘Switch Delhi’ campaign focuses on the outreach for electric three-wheelers and aims to sensitize, inform, and encourage Delhiites to adopt electric three-wheelers in the national capital. Three-wheelers are one of the major contributors to vehicular emissions in Delhi and the policy lays special focus on incentivizing the transition of this segment to electric.
“Two and three-wheelers contribute to two-thirds of the pollution in Delhi. Three wheelers run on the road for 12-16 hours every day. The focus of Delhi EV policy on this segment to enable their transition to electric will greatly benefit Delhi’s air quality,” Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said on the occasion of launching the next leg of the Switch Delhi campaign. While e-rickshaws have a top speed not exceeding 25 kmph, e-autos are comparable to CNG autos and have top speed of around 50-60 kmph and can travel longer distances.
“E-autos can complement e-rickshaws in providing zero pollution last mile connectivity in Delhi. Delhi government will soon bring out a scheme to facilitate easy registration of e-autos in Delhi,” said Gahlot.
The Delhi govt has already been giving subsidy of Rs 30,000 on e rickshaws but now under EV policy, the same subsidy has been extended to e carts/loaders and e-autos. Purchase incentives of upto Rs 30,000 per vehicle shall be provided and scrapping incentives upto Rs 7500 are available for scrapping and de-registering old CNG auto rickshaws registered in Delhi. Road tax and registration fees will also be waived for all electric three-wheelers.
Gahlot said, “Subsidies provided by the Delhi government under Delhi’s EV policy on electric 3 wheeler autos reduce the total cost of ownership of the electric three-wheeler by upto 26%. By switching to electric 3 wheeler auto, an individual buyer can save approximately Rs 29,000 annually. Similarly, the subsidies provided on electric 3 wheeler e-rikshaw under the Delhi EV policy reduce the total cost of ownership by upto 33%. ”
Under Delhi’s EV policy, 177 three-wheeler models are available and eligible for purchase and scrapping incentives across 68 manufacturers. Delhi government has recently also released the tender for installation of 500 charging points at 100 sites, majority of which will have slow chargers that are suitable for two and three wheelers especially. “We have done the groundwork for the smooth transition to electric vehicles in Delhi. Now we seek the cooperation and commitment from Delhiites to make this movement a success and make Delhi the EV capital of India,” Shri Gahlot added.
Switch Delhi is an eight-week mass awareness campaign by the Delhi Government to sensitize each and every Delhiite about the benefits of switching to EVs to the environment as well as to make them aware of the incentives and infrastructure being developed under Delhi’s EV policy. The campaign aims at informing, encouraging, and motivating each and every person in Delhi to switch from polluting vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles.
