Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Thursday launched the Switch Delhi campaign, a mass awareness campaign to sensitise each and every Delhiite about the benefits of switching to ‘Electronics Vehicles’ (EVs) to make them aware of the incentives and infrastructure being developed under Delhi’s EV policy.
While launching the campaign, Kejriwal said that Delhi has to turn its EV adoption movement into a mass movement, a 'Jan Andolan', to form a collective commitment to decrease pollution by purchasing EVs.
“I appeal to each and every vehicle owner in Delhi to switch from polluting vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles, and to make a commitment to purchase a vehicle that causes no pollution. I appeal to the RWAs and market associations to play a leading role in this mass awareness campaign by joining hands with the Delhi government in spreading awareness on EVs. I also urge delivery fleets and large corporates to set targets to transition their entire fleet to EVs and to set up charging points in your premises,” he said.
“The campaign aims at informing, encouraging, and motivating each and every person in Delhi to switch from polluting vehicles to zero-emission electric vehicles,” he said.
The chief minister also said that the Delhi government has decided that all hired cars being engaged by various departments of the Delhi government will transition to EVs within the next six months.
On the occasion of the launch, Kejriwal said, “Over the last year, the people of Delhi have fought a courageous fight against Corona.
They overcame all odds to defeat three waves of Corona. While all the people of Delhi deserve credit for this, it should not take away our focus from the long-term challenges facing Delhi. One such challenge is air pollution.”
To address the vehicular pollution in Delhi, in August 2020, the Delhi government notified the landmark Delhi Electric Vehicle policy. It has been called the most progressive EV policy in India and among the best globally. The policy was well-received because it sets an ambitious vision for Delhi to drastically reduce air pollution from vehicles and become one of the top cities of the world in terms of the adoption of EVs.
“Our vision is that by 2024, 25 per cent of all vehicles in Delhi should be electric vehicles. If we can achieve this, imagine how much pollution it will reduce,” he said.
The Delhi Government has rolled out the highest incentives on the purchase of EVs among all Indian states. “Incentives on EVs range from a maximum of Rs 30,000 for 2 and 3-wheelers and up to Rs 1,50,000 on the purchase of four-wheelers. This subsidy is received directly in your bank account within three days of the purchase. We have made road tax and registration fees also completely free on EVs. The policy has been created to promote the adoption of EV on a large scale. Since EVs cannot run on petrol, we are issuing tenders to develop 100 public charging stations spread across the length and breadth of Delhi,” he added.
On the positive impact of the policy, Kejriwal said, “Since the launch of our EV policy in August, nearly 6000 new EVs have been registered in Delhi. The efforts of the government alone are not enough, everybody has to come together. Vehicular pollution is the biggest source of pollution in the city.”