Chandigarh: The Chandigarh administration has banned the sale of petrol-powered bikes in the Union Territory for the remaining fiscal after June 2023, a step in accordance with the Electric Vehicle Policy 2022.
As such, any person buying petrol-powered bikes in Chandigarh after June will not be able to get the vehicle registered in the union territory. As per the EV policy in the city, the 2023-24 target is expected to be met in June.
In fact, under this new policy, only 6,200 petrol-powered motorcycles can be registered in the city in 2023 and 2024. The UT has already registered Nearly 3,700 motorcycles have been registered within the last one and a half months.
The decision will impact employment opportunities as several showrooms dealing in petrol driven two wheelers may have to shut shop. The fate of those working in such showrooms hangs in balance. Besides, electric vehicles are 50 to 60 per cent more expensive than petrol and diesel ones. A motorcycle costs between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh but the EVs are more expensive.
The Chandigarh Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 aims to enable zero-emission mobility adoption for achieving carbon neutrality in Chandigarh by 2030. Earlier this year, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) had moved the Punjab and Haryana high court, challenging the electric vehicle (EV) policy 2022.
While the policy has miffed many, the Chandigarh administration has also given out incentives to those choosing EVs over fuel-driven vehicles. Maximum incentives have been received by those buying two-wheeler EVs.
Also read: CM Mann announces Punjab's Electric Vehicle policy at CII meet in Delhi
