With rising demand in the city, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will soon operationalise as many as eight public charging stations for electric vehicles in the first phase.
Four stations each in Zone-1 and Zone-2 will be opened to the public, providing a total of 48 charging points on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. This initiative is part of the central govt’s policy to promote electric vehicles, prevent air and noise pollution, save energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a target of achieving at least 30 per cent electric vehicles by 2030.
“The state govt adopted the policy in Feb 2022, and the NITI Aayog set a target of 80 per cent of two-wheelers and three-wheelers to be electric by 2030. A survey was conducted to identify suitable sites under the corporation’s jurisdiction, including lay-bys, malls, departmental offices, municipal headquarters, wedding halls, parks, parking lots, and bus terminuses. The city was divided into 1 sq km grid clusters, each originally envisaged to house 6 charging stations,” said NMMC commissioner Kailas Shinde.
Considering current space availability, five stations per cluster were proposed, leading to a total plan of 24 clusters with 143 charging points to ensure facilities near busy public spaces, said Shinde.
Eight charging stations are being established in the first phase through agencies like Kay Bee Batteries Private Limited, Road Grid India Private Limited, and Delta Electronics India Private Limited at their own cost. The corporation will earn ₹4 per kilowatt-hour and will allocate ₹2 crore from the 15th Finance Commission’s air quality improvement fund for cities in the Million Plus City group, said an official.
“Under the agreement, the corporation will provide free space with electric lighting at all public charging stations for advertisements, share in the advertising revenue, and display hoardings of various govt schemes. Where space permits, the designated agencies may also set up kiosks for selling packaged food and water with prior permission from the corporation,” said Shinde.
