Delhi govt may incentivise vehicle retrofitting under EV Policy 2.0: Gahlot

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Thursday said the Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 will look at incentivising retrofitting of vehicles considering its high cost.

In an interview to PTI, the minister said that since the new policy is in the works, they will extend the existing policy by six months or until the new one is ready.

The Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy-2020 expired on August 8 this year and the government had said that the subsidy being given under it would continue till a new policy gets notified.

"We are moving a cabinet note and within this week it should be finalised. The existing policy will be extended for six months or until the new policy is notified," he said.

Talking about the new policy that is in the works, the minister said the one thing that they will look at is the concept of retrofitting.

"People want to convert their IC (internal combustion) engines into electric ones. The process is expensive. For converting a normal Gypsy, it takes almost Rs 5-6 lakh, which is on the higher side. We will look at how to incentivise it," he told PTI.

Another focus area for the government is last-mile connectivity, he noted.

"We have floated a tender for deploying 3,000 e-scooters and e-cycles to strengthen last-mile connectivity. In the first phase, 1,500 such vehicles will be stationed at metro stations. We are starting the project in Dwarka on a pilot basis," he added.