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For the last two months, beneficiaries have been waiting to avail the Delhi government’s subsidy on the purchase of a new e-vehicle, following the expiry of the Electric Vehicle (EV) policy in December 2023.
A senior official of the Delhi Transport Department said: “The policy was supposed to be extended from January itself, but it is still pending due to some reason. The department has plans to get it extended for another six months. The file will be put up for cabinet approval in the coming week.”
A key initiative of the AAP-led government in Delhi, the EV policy was launched in August 2020 in a bid to increase the share of EVs in the national capital to 25 per cent by 2024 — to fight high pollution levels by cutting vehicular emissions.
In 2023, the policy completed three years in August and got an extension till December. The government had said that the policy would be extended till March-end 2024 after the cabinet approval, but the file is yet to be put forward for the same, causing trouble for people who have purchased e-vehicles this year so far.
According to data, around 14,384 e-vehicles have been registered in Delhi between January and March so far — an increasing trend from the total 73,647 e-vehicles registered in 2023.
The policy offers buyers subsidies, exempts them from paying registration fees and road tax, and promotes the installation of charging stations.
“At present, road tax exemptions are being provided on registration of EVs,” said an official.
Under the EV policy, each category of vehicle gets subsidies or incentives based on the battery capacity. For example, Rs 5,000 per kWh or up to Rs 30,000 on purchasing a two-wheeler, Rs 30,000 for e-rickshaws and e-freight vehicles. For four wheelers, there is a purchase incentive of Rs 10,000/kWh of battery capacity per electric four-wheeler (maximum incentive of Rs 1,50,000 per vehicle). The offer was provided to the owners of the first 1,000 e-cars registered in Delhi, as per the policy.
Officials said: “Beneficiaries, who bought new e-vehicles and applied for the subsidy in the last two months, will be given subsidy, once the policy gets cabinet approval and then extended. The backend will be cleared.” Following the cabinet approval for extension, it will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor for the final approval.
Apart from e-vehicles, Delhi has also registered about 5,449 petrol-hybrid vehicles and 27 strong-hybrid EVs. Total 1,33,791 vehicles have been registered in the Capital till date.
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