Electric vehicle charging infrastructure proposed in all 198 ward offices

But, officials don’t expect an outcome soon

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Town Planning Department has proposed to set up electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in all the ward offices. However, it may take a long time for the proposal to come to fruition.

Sources in the BBMP said the proposal had been put forth recently as per the Ministry of Renewable Energy guidelines for charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. According to the guidelines, the distance between charging stations should not be more than three sq.km.

“While it may not be feasible to have charging stations in all the 198 ward offices, we hope to establish these stations wherever possible,” said civic officials.

In January this year, the department had written to all zonal commissioners and chief engineers to share the GPS locations of the ward offices in their jurisdiction as well as the address and site plans.

“We even tried to follow up with individual officials, seeking these details. However, there has been no response, not even an acknowledgement of our request,” an official said.

With a majority of BBMP officials now posted for election duty for the Lok Sabha polls, senior officials conceded that the proposal may remain on paper for quite some time.

Civic officials added that it had also been proposed to reserve 20% of the total parking spots in new buildings for the charging of electric vehicles. With building by-laws now being revised, the Town Planning Department has recommended that 20% of the parking slots also be unassigned, so that owners of electric vehicles can avail of this facility.

Source: thehindu