Govt expects there will be a major push to the sale of electric vehicles a few car major car makers are likely to launch their high range electric vehicles.

The capital city will get 131 public charging stations for electric vehicles to address the concerns of potential buyers & to ensure that people have access to recharging facilities in their vicinity.

According to the plan approved by the power ministry & the Delhi government, 33 such facilities will be set up at Metro stations, 34 at CNG stations, 24 at Indian Oil petrol pumps, 15 at Bharat Petroleum fuel stations & nine at Hindustan Petroleum pumps. One each will be set up in the parking area of T-3 at IGI Airport & Jamia Millia.

Sources said the government wants the facilities to be made operational in three months. The Centre, in consultation with municipal authorities & the Delhi government, has decided that the three municipal corporations & Delhi Transco Ltd will be the nodal agencies for their respective areas. This were decided at a meeting chaired by power minister R K Singh in mid-February.

Officials said the facilities will be operated by the four nodal agencies for three years & they will charge a fee from users. The government expects private players to set up similar charging stations at a later stage when the business becomes financially viable.

The Centre expects there will be a major push to the sale of electric vehicles in Delhi as government departments will procure or hire more of them & a few car major car makers are likely to launch their high range electric vehicles in July.

"One of the reasons why people think twice before buying an electric car is ‘range anxiety’ — the apprehension they would have no option to recharge in case the vehicle runs out of battery. The government is trying to address that concern. The skeleton of charging network will bring confidence as one can be sure of getting a charging station in a few km range. More stations will come up as demand goes up," said Alekhya Datta, fellow & area convener of TERI.

Officials said the locations of charging stations have been decided in such a manner that these can even cater to the need of electric vehicles coming from Noida, Gurgaon & Ghaziabad.

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