The Delhi government has started to scrap off the old petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles. Recently, the General Administration Department (GAD) has procured 12 electric vehicles to be used by ministers and top officers of the Delhi government.
A senior GAD officer said, “We have also started the process to identify and send such vehicles that have completed their lifespan for scrapping." As per a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, "the use of diesel and petrol vehicles older than 10 years and 15 years respectively is banned in Delhi."
Electric Vehicle Policy
The Electric Vehicle Policy was launched in August 2020, various departments and autonomous bodies of the Delhi government have started to replace their old petrol and diesel vehicles with electric vehicles. “It is being done on case-to-case basis keeping in mind the relatively higher prices of electric vehicles as compared to conventional vehicles," said a senior Delhi government officer.
Last year, in February, the Delhi government had directed all its departments and autonomous bodies to hire or purchase only electric vehicles for their fleets. “All departments of the Delhi government will now use only electric vehicles. Over 2,000 petrol and diesel vehicles will be replaced with electric vehicles", Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said.
The General Administration Department
The GAD is working towards the replacement of various old vehicles with VIP series of registration numbers like 0001. “While these vehicles will be scrapped, their VIP registration numbers will be retained for registration of new vehicles to be procured by the department," said the GAD officer.