The Delhi Government has formed a 10-member committee comprising officials and experts to draft a revised electric vehicle (EV) policy. A 12-point agenda has been set for the committee, which includes transitioning all CNG vehicles to electric, charging facilities under flyovers, managing battery waste, last-mile connectivity, subsidy disbursement and other aspects of the revised policy.  For proper CNG to EV transition, the committee shall ensure that a scientific study is done to assess the number of CNG cars currently in use in Delhi and to outline a feasible plan for replacing them with EVs within a year, starting from April 1, 2026, a Government document said. According to the document, the expert committee shall, after detailed examination, recommend measures on how to set up EV charging stations under flyovers and year-wise specific targets for setting up private and semi-public EV charging stations. Considering the anticipated large numbers of EV adoption by the general public, a perspective plan, including clarity on the allocation of land, needs to be put in place to address the needs of the NCT of Delhi, and the same needs to be incorporated in the revised policy, it added. The committee has experts like K Ramachandra Rao, professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Head of Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre (TRIPC), IIT Delhi; Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha, advisor, NITI Aayog, and managing director of DTC; top officers of the transport department; members of power distribution companies; and others. In a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on April 16, the extension of the existing EV policy was approved for three months. The EV policy has been extended multiple times under both the previous AAP regime and the current government led by the BJP. The committee shall in detail examine the delays caused in subsidy disbursement in the current policy, and it shall also objectively determine the number of women beneficiaries and the quantum of subsidy to be given to them, the government document said. Launched in August 2020 as one of the key initiatives of the previous AAP Government, the policy is aimed at tackling vehicular pollution and pushing the adoption of electric vehicles to 25 per cent by 2024. Although its initial three-year term ended in August 2023, the Government decided to extend it. The committee shall suggest routes for which permits can be given and the maximum number of e-auto rickshaws and maxi cabs to ply on roads along with the location of public charging infrastructure in these areas, the document added. The committee has to submit fortnightly reports on the progress made by the committee to Transport Minister Pankaj Singh.

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