Delhi’s electric vehicle (EV) policy needs to be extended across the National Capital Region (NCR) to prevent polluting vehicles from being registered in neighbouring states and continuing to enter the Capital, former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday.
Because its mobility was dominated by two-wheelers, three-wheelers and buses – segments where electrification could be undertaken relatively quickly, india, he said, had a particular advantage.
“The future of transport is electric,” Kant said, adding that falling battery prices and lower total ownership costs had made electrification economically viable.
Kant urged the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to ensure that Delhi’s EV policy was adopted by Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. He also called for Punjab to be included in the wider air-quality strategy, saying the state formed part of the airshed influencing Delhi’s air quality. “Addressing vehicle emissions demands regional enforcement across entire airsheds rather than isolated administrative borders.
“If Delhi stops registering ICE [internal combustion engine] three-wheelers, the same vehicles will start getting sold and registered just across the border in Noida or in Gurugram,” he said. “Air quality management must follow the airshed and not administrative maps,” Kant said. By ring-fencing high-density corridors, mandating clean fleet transitions, and expanding continuous real-time monitoring, we are building an integrated, accountable system to secure clean air for every citizen,” he said.
