Chandigarh releases ₹7.66 crore in incentives for 1,246 EVs in eight months

In a bid to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the city, the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science & Technology Promotion Society (CREST) has released a total of ₹7.66 crore in incentives for such vehicles since the launch of the Electric Vehicle policy in September last year. The incentives have been released for the purchase of 1,246 battery-powered and hybrid vehicles in eight months, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.

The total units of electric/hybrid vehicles purchased in the city during the period includes 326 four-wheelers, 895 two-wheelers and 25 three-wheelers. Further breaking down of the figures show that out of the total subsidy of ₹7.66 crore, a sum of ₹2.03 crore was released for electric two-wheelers, ₹5.20 crore was released for four-wheelers while ₹13 lakh was released for three-wheelers.

Besides these, there are 40 more incentive applications still pending with the CREST - the nodal agency for implementation of the EV Policy in the city. The union territory's five-year EV policy has received administration approval for the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the release of financial incentives.

The EV scheme provides direct incentive to users who purchase new EVs or hybrid vehicles in the city and get them registered with the local Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA). The incentives will remain in operation till September 19, 2027, or till the time the administration decides otherwise. However, these are not available for the government sector.

In order to receive the incentive amount, an owner of the electric/hybrid vehicle will need to submit a claim, complete in all respects, within three months from the purchase of new vehicle, Sukhwinder Singh Abrol, project director, CREST, told HT. He added that the incentives are being released to the beneficiary within 15 working days of acceptance of all documents, subject to availability of funds.