Chandigarh to stop registration of non-electric two-wheelers by July

The Chandigarh administration has announced that it will stop registering fossil fuel-based two-wheelers by July this year. The registration for non-electric four-wheelers will also stop by December as the set limit for registrations of non-electric vehicles approaches fast, an The Indian Express (IE) report said.

The policy is part of the Chandigarh administration's plan to reduce pollution and move towards green mobility. To this end, the city's administration issued a statement saying, “In order to achieve the aim of eco-friendly and green transportation in the city the Chandigarh Administration notified the Electric Vehicle Policy 2022. The aim of the ban was a 10 per cent reduction in four-wheelers and 35 per cent in two-wheelers in the first year i.e. 2022 as compared to the preceding year. The targets for the current financial year 2023-24 are 20 per cent reduction in four-wheelers and 70 per cent in two-wheelers,” the newspaper reported.

Speaking about the ban on registration of vehicles running on petrol and diesel, the Director of Transport Department Chandigarh, Pradyuman Singh was quoted by IE as saying,  “The registration of non-electric 2-wheelers shall not be done by this office after achieving the target of 6202 non-electric two-wheelers. Similarly, registration of four-wheelers shall not be done after registration of 22,626 non-electric four-wheelers for the current financial year that is 2023-24.”

Singh added that the upper limit set for non-electric two-wheelers is expected to be achieved by July first week. In the case of four-wheelers, the limit is expected to be reached by December end of this year. Hence, the registration of non-electric vehicles beyond this time is unlikely to continue.

Expressing their disappointment over the UT's decision, the Federation of Chandigarh Region Automobile Dealers Association said that the government is forcing people to buy electric vehicles and this will have economic consequences for up to 10,000 people, the IE report added.

The association said that the dealers of fossil fuel-based vehicles have an inventory of about Rs 100 crore and the cost to set up a dealership is Rs five crore. This decision will make these dealers go bankrupt, the federation was quoted in the report.

The dealers' association further added that a freeze on registration of non-electric vehicles will do no good as such vehicles from outside the state will continue to run on Chandigarh's roads. This decision will force people to buy expensive and unreliable electric vehicles, the association was quoted as saying in the report.