Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, along with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, today flagged off 200 new electric buses from the Delhi University Sports Complex, taking Delhi’s electric bus fleet to nearly 5,000 buses. The event was attended by MLA Surya Prakash Khatri, along with senior officials and other dignitaries.
The Delhi Government also inaugurated the Delhi–Karnal Inter-State Electric Bus Service and a public EV charging station at Rajghat Depot-1.
Earlier, the Delhi government approved the proposal to implement and support the Central government’s PARIVARTAN to phase out over two lakh old, polluting trucks and buses and replace them with BS-VI, higher-emission-standard or electric vehicles, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said. She said the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ PARIVARTAN (Programme for Accelerated Renewal and Incentivisation of Vehicle Assets for Reducing Transport Air Pollution and Network Emissions) scheme’s implementation in the city will reduce transport-related air pollution and emissions. Under this scheme, the state government of the region where a commercial vehicle is registered will provide the specific concessions applicable to it, said an official statement.
These initiatives further strengthen Delhi’s clean mobility ecosystem and reflect the Government’s commitment towards sustainable transport, better connectivity, safer mobility for women and improved ease of travel for citizens. PARIVARTAN scheme applies to the Delhi-NCR region and has been implemented there simultaneously. This approval to implement the scheme in Delhi was granted at a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
The Chief Minister said that under the scheme, owners of BS-IV or older Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) who scrap their vehicles and purchase a new electric LGV will receive a 100 per cent exemption on motor vehicle tax and registration fees for 10 years from the Delhi Government. In addition, BS-IV vehicles covered under the scheme will not necessarily have to be scrapped. They may also be sold in non-NCAP cities outside the NCR. Non-NCAP cities are those that are not included under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
