No registrations of non-electric vehicles after December: Chandigarh
As per the plans for the end of each fiscal year, the Chandigarh government said it would stop registering fuel-powered
two-wheelers
by July and four-wheelers by December. The Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 is intended to discourage the use of non-electric automobiles, according to an official declaration made on Friday. New objectives for the upcoming fiscal year will be used to start the registration process. The electric car policy was released by the Chandigarh Administration's Department of Science, Technology, and Renewable Energy in September 2022. The city with the greatest number of vehicles is Chandigarh, which is also the only one to have announced such a ban.The Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 was made public by the Chandigarh Administration in an effort to achieve the city's aim of eco-friendly and green transportation. In the first year, 2022, the prohibition was intended to reduce the number of four-wheelers by 10% and two-wheelers by 35% from the previous year. The objectives for the current fiscal year 2023–24, according to the state, are a 20% decline in four-wheelers and a 70% fall in two-wheelers.
There is a cap on the number of two-wheelers that may be registered this year: 6202 for two-wheelers and 22,626 for four-wheelers. 2685 four-wheelers and 4032 two-wheelers have already been registered since April. By 2024, the administration wants to completely cease two-wheeler registrations and gradually reduce four-wheeler registrations.
According to Pradyuman Singh, Director of Transport in Chandigarh, who is in charge of the Registering and Licencing Authority, "This office shall not register non-electric two-wheelers after achieving the target of 6202 non-electric two-wheelers." Similar to this, registration of four-wheelers is prohibited once 22,626 non-electric four-wheelers have been registered for the current fiscal year, 2023–24. The registration of non-electric two-wheelers, whether permanent or temporary, will not be permitted in Chandigarh once the registration objectives for these vehicles have been met because the policy's registration quota for the next year is NIL.
According to him, the goal for non-electric two-wheelers will likely be reached by the first week of July, and the goal for four-wheelers will probably be met by the end of the year. This is to let people know that registrations for two-wheelers would finish by the first week of July and for four-wheelers by the end of the year, he added.
Following UT's decision, the Federation of Chandigarh Region Automobile Dealers Association said that UT is requiring individuals to purchase electric automobiles, which will have a negative economic impact on 10,000 people. The federation further said, “More than 2500 individuals are now employed. When July comes, where will they go? The estimated inventory is roughly worth Rs 100 crore, while the typical startup costs for a dealer are Rs 5 crore.”
According to the federation, they are forced to shut down dealerships, and the majority of two-wheeler dealers would go out of business. Economically, around 10,000 individuals will be impacted. They further claimed that the government is taking away their jobs amid the present unemployment situation. "This will not result in any good," it was said, "since we cannot prevent fuel automobiles from other states from entering the city. People will be forced to purchase pricey, unreliable EVs as a result.
The policy states that the least feasible aim for e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers in the first year is 35%, and 20% for e-three-wheelers and e-four-wheelers for goods. This year, the goal for personal e-cars is 10%; for e-buses, it is 40%; and for commercial e-cars, it is 20%.
The lowest feasible aim for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, or passenger cars, is 70% each in 2023, while the target for electric three-wheelers and four-wheelers, which are used to transport goods, is 40% each. The goal is raised to 20% for personal usage of e-cars, and in the second year, to 50% for e-buses. Similarly, the goal for e-two-wheelers and e-three-wheelers, or passenger autos, in years three, four, and five is 100%, meaning that starting in 2024, the registration of fuel-based two-wheelers and autos will end completely. The goal for personal e-cars is 30%, 40%, and 50% for 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively. The aim established for e-buses is 100% by the fifth year, which implies that no further fuel-based buses will be registered at all.