Days after the Delhi government rolled out its new electric vehicle (EV) policy, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said in an interview Hindustan Timessaid the policy aims to cater to a “huge section” of Delhi households who buy a vehicle and keep it with them for years, while urging residents to take advantage of it “if they care about the city”. He also talked about the government’s efforts in regularizing thousands of illegal colonies, providing housing to lakhs of people and tackling the challenge of encroachment. Edited excerpts:
What will be the benefits of the new EV policy in pollution control? What are the expected results?
I think the outcome will largely depend on how quickly and to what extent city residents are willing to switch to EVs. As more people switch to EVs, we will be able to see a visible difference in emission levels in Delhi. The problem of pollution had become like a hard shell which seemed impossible to break. The previous government did nothing to improve the situation, so taking steps to tackle pollution became an urgent concern for us.
We were told that about 23% of the city’s pollution is due to vehicle emissions. A year ago, when we came to power, we realized that we had to work on a 360-degree plan that included intensive tree plantation, dust mitigation and controlling emissions. So, we came up with this policy where we have identified the priority areas. There are mandates and EV incentives for the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments as these together account for more than 46% of overall vehicle emissions. The beauty of this policy is that it does not just list subsidies; It has provisions for mandates, scrapping incentives, infrastructure upgrades and battery recycling. This is a well-thought-out policy with end-to-end solutions.
The mandate in the policy may also push people to register their vehicles in other NCR cities. Delhi will also suffer loss of revenue. So is this policy really a solution?
Improving the air quality of the city is our priority. Actually, we are spending more than we need ₹Rs 15,000 crore on this policy – from the total budget of the state ₹1 lakh crore – which shows our commitment to improve pollution levels. We are providing substantial subsidies and have also stipulated that those who avail of these subsidies cannot transfer the vehicle for three years, to ensure that the environmental benefits continue. However, if people have to find alternatives, they will. No policy can guarantee 100% participation of the public, but we can motivate people and ensure targeted intervention in key areas.
If the people of the city care about Delhi, they will take advantage of this common-man-centric policy and its benefits. There is still a large segment where families buy a vehicle and keep it for years, and these families will get the benefits of this policy.
The provisions for hybrid vehicles that were in the initial draft were removed. What was the reason for this, since both Uttar Pradesh and Haryana already provide tax exemption to such vehicles?
There are two main reasons for keeping hybrids out of the policy. Firstly, we wanted to keep the policy focused only on EVs, as hybrid vehicles switch to petrol or other fuels after using electricity for some time. This will not have the desired impact on the environment that we are expecting.
Secondly, in view of the huge investment of over ₹In the Rs 15,000 crore policy that we are making, we had to ensure a phased rollout. So, while we have started with pure EVs, we may consider adding hybrids in the next policy.
One drawback of the previous policy was that the charging infrastructure was not adequately upgraded and many of the charging points that were installed are now defunct. Although the policy sounds good on paper, what is the implementation strategy to ensure that charging infrastructure is quickly built and maintained?
Charging infrastructure is the basis of this policy. we have set aside ₹8,000 crore only to develop charging infrastructure and e-waste plants. According to a report by DTL (Delhi Transco Limited), there are around 9,000 charging points as of now, and we are going to increase that number in a big way.
For this, we have shared the responsibility of increasing charging points with manufacturers, dealers, RWAs and institutions, who will install charging points at vehicle dealerships, within housing complexes and at commercial spaces where vehicles are collectively parked. Therefore, the government, OEMs and the private sector will all contribute to the development of charging infrastructure.
I think this is also opening up a new sector which can provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. New charging points are also being built at all our bus depots and many other public places.
While the focus is on two-wheelers and three-wheelers and commercial vehicles, EV adoption in cars is very low and is mostly considered as an option for the second car in the family. There was exemption in road tax earlier also, but it did not prove to be a big incentive. So, what is the government’s strategy to increase EV adoption among car owners?
Road tax and registration fees have been waived off on all EV cars costing up to Rs. ₹30 million. Additionally, we have also provided scrapping incentive of up to ₹1 lakh for cars, which is also a significant amount. We have also ensured that the subsidy amount is transferred through DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) within 60 days, which is another motivation.
People buy cars based on their usage patterns. EVs are perfect for people who mostly drive within the city. People who occasionally have to travel to neighboring cities can rent vehicles. In fact, once people start using an EV, they become very comfortable with it because it feels like they are driving for free. There is no need to fill petrol here, charging costs are minimal and they are not bothered by fluctuations in fuel prices.
Secondly, all the states around us are now actively working on improving EV infrastructure. Haryana is reviewing our EV policy, while UP and Rajasthan are also planning to expand EV infrastructure. When CNG was introduced, people had similar concerns, which were immediately addressed across the country.
Encroachment in public places is rampant in Delhi. From footpaths, parks and roads to common spaces, all sections of the society are guilty of destroying public areas. The Supreme Court had also recently said that the right to walk is a fundamental right. HT is running a 15-part video series documenting the deplorable state of Delhi’s footpaths. What mechanism is being put in place to ensure that encroachers do not return and the condition of footpaths improves?
We are very serious in dealing with such long-term illegal encroachments and in fact, we have taken strict steps across the city, including in my own constituency, to remove such encroachments. However, sadly, many sections raise questions as to why we are displacing illegal residents. For real action to be taken, people need to give up their greed and the media and society need to stop questioning the right strict action taken.
These haphazard unauthorized constructions have been happening for years and have never been stopped because of vote-bank politics. We are the first government that is taking real action and we hope that other pillars of democracy will support us in this.
You announced that 1,531 colonies are being regularized on “as is, where is” basis. However, we have seen several recent incidents related to narrow streets, lack of adherence to building norms and absence of basic safety features, impacting fire fighting and rescue operations. HT did a four-part series on how these unauthorized colonies have evolved into ticking time bombs over the years. What is the government planning to ensure that the disasters seen in recent months do not happen in these places?
Delhi is more than 100 years old. None of these 1,500 unauthorized colonies were formed suddenly. Some developed during the tenure of the previous 15-year government and some during the subsequent 11-year government. There are more than 700 slum clusters which have developed in an unplanned manner.
We cannot render these millions of people homeless without providing them with any alternative. For them, we are supporting them by “empowering” them in the first place. Once they start registering, they will be able to take loans against their properties and properly reconstruct the secured structures.
We are also bringing in a provision for the first time under which slums built by 2025 will be redeveloped as townships with the help of developers, which will include common areas, parks, charging points for e-rickshaws and dispensaries. Similarly, once the unauthorized colonies are regularized, these will also be redeveloped in phases with all necessary safety provisions. we allocated ₹700 crore more last year ₹Rs 800 crore this year for the development of unauthorized colonies.
