More than a year after the UT rolled out the electric vehicle (EV) policy, Chandigarh Member of Parliament (MP) Kirron Kher has objected to the manner in which it is being implemented, saying that in a democracy, people are not given anything. He said he could not force the purchase. . This is the first time the lawmaker has spoken out on this issue.
The Chandigarh MP said this at a meeting convened by the Chandigarh Council for Promotion of Renewable Energy, Science and Technology (CREST) on Monday. “There should be no cap on the registration of fuel-based vehicles. In a democratic country, authorities cannot force people to buy only electric vehicles. This is also causing loss of revenue to the UT administration. .”
The policy has drawn harsh criticism from car dealers and residents since it was introduced on September 20, 2022.
The meeting was convened to consider how to modify EV policy.
Mayor Anup Gupta, one of the vehement opponents of the policy, also attended the meeting along with members of the Automobile Dealers Association.
While Mayor Gupta insisted he was not against electric cars, he said, “We should try to popularize electric cars by providing incentives, but we should not put pressure on city residents.” Restrictions and quotas on registration of fuel-based vehicles are not helpful. There are no such restrictions in other parts of the country. ”
CREST officials will now prepare a report on the suggestions received and send it to administrator Banwarilal Purohit for further action.
Home Minister Nitin Yadav said the EV policy will be comprehensively reviewed and during that time, registration of vehicles running on internal combustion engines (ICE) will continue till November 27.
Environment Director TC Nautiyal also attended the meeting.
The government had suspended the registration of fuel two-wheelers on October 29 as it had exhausted the quota of 1,609 fuel two-wheelers set for 2023-2024. He has 10 car dealerships in the city, which collectively sell about 20,000 non-motorized two-wheelers annually and nearly 1,600 non-motorized two-wheelers each month. During the festival season, that number jumps to about 4,000 people a month.