The Maharashtra government issued a special ordinance on Tuesday directing planning authorities to start giving permissions for construction of electric vehicles (EV) charging stations.
The ordinance was approved by the Governor and directives issued under Section 154 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planing (MRTP) Act, 1966. The EV stations will be permitted at public parking lots, housing societies, gas stations, railway stations, bus depots.
Senior officials of the Urban Development Department (UDD) said to The Hindu that the permissions for EV stations will be given to private players and green vehicle companies, keeping in mind the safety measures. The regulations will also ensure that the stations do not obstruct movement at public spaces and comply with fire safety measures.
Following the clearance of the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy in February this year, Nagpur became the first city in India to get an EV charging station. The station came up on an Indian Oil gas/petrol facility.
The new policy makes special provisions to support construction of EV stations, including subsidised electricity rates for the manufacturers, and 25% capital subsidy for the first 250 stations, officials said. The policy envisages a complete switch of the state transport system by 2030. It estimates an approximate investment of Rs. 25,000 crore and creation of 5 lakh jobs.
The Union power ministry has already declared charging batteries of electric vehicles as a “service” to allow stations to operate without a license. Since the stations will not perform an activity related to transmission, distribution or trading of electricity, a license is not needed under the Electricity Act 2003, the ministry had said.
