The UT administration from Tuesday will stop buying non-electric vehicles (non-EVs).
“In order to push people to move away from non-EVs, the administration from August will only buy EVs for its officials. It will also set the right example for city residents who have earlier questioned administration on the issue,” said an official.
The administration in the amendments notified in the Chandigarh Electric Vehicle Policy 2022, had added, “All government departments and local bodies will only purchase electric vehicles, with effect from August 2023.”
Though mandatory for all departments to buy EVs for its staff from August onwards, yet the administration agreed to offer exemptions in some case.
“In case of any exemption the department shall obtain prior approval of the competent Authority,” said the policy.
In some cases, there are no EV alternatives available to non-EV vehicles. “In cases of heavy vehicles, like trucks for fire brigade, there are no EV options available. In such cases, a department can buy non-EVs after taking approval of the competent authority,” said the official.
It was in September 2022 when the administration came up with the Chandigarh EV Policy. Caps were put on the registration of the non-EVs in different categories of vehicles. A range of incentives was introduced for the policy period of five years.
Earlier this year, the administration relaxed these caps, bringing these in line with the ground realities.
After the mid-term review, the administration decided to increase the quota of the non-EV two-wheelers from 30% to 70% for 2024. For 2025, the revised cap has been reduced from 0% to 50%. For 2026, it will be 70%. From 2027, there will be no registration of non-EV two-wheelers.
The target for the registration of the three-wheeler (goods) vehicles has been increased from 60% to 65% for 2024. Similarly, for the four-wheeler goods vehicles, the new target is 85% instead of 60% in the original policy. For the non-EV buses, the target has been increased from 50% to 75% for 2024.
In a bid to discourage purchase of non-EVs in the city, the administration recently increased the road tax on non-EVs registered in the city by 4% to 5%. The tax slabs were also revised, which also increased the tax incidence on lesser expensive vehicles. The registration of non-EVs brought in other states (outside the UT) became even costlier than those brought within Chandigarh.
The increase in the road tax on non-EV follows the recent decision of the administration to exempt hybrid vehicles along with electric vehicles from road tax for five years (from March 18, 2023 to March 17, 2028).
