Navi Mumbai will soon get an electric vehicle (EV) charging station. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is setting a charging station in Nerul along the Palm Beach Road with three charging points. During 2020-21, the civic body had proposed to set up 30 charging stations and the first of them will come by end of the year.
The demand for EVs saw an increase following the rise in fuel prices and the announcement of EV policy, brought in by the state government that offers incentives to early adopters of electric vehicles aside from benefits offered by the Central Government.
A private player had opened a charging station with 21 charging points in the Turbhe TTC area in July 2021. The facility is claimed to be India’s largest charging station.
However, other parts of the city lack a charging station, and the civic body is filling that gap.
According to senior civic officials, the work in the charging station is going on and it will be available for the public very soon. “Last month, the civic body received responses from companies involved in setting up charging stations and a contract has already been given,” said a senior civic official. He added that initially, there will be three charging points. In the later stage, the company will set up remaining of the 20 charging stations at strategic locations.
Even, the NMMC has also decided to procure electric vehicles for the officers and four vehicles will soon be brought in for use.
With the rise of conventional fuel prices, people are now focusing on buying electric vehicles in Navi Mumbai. It is evident with the fact that in the first seven months of 2021, the Deputy Regional Transport office in Vashi has already registered a total of 278 electric vehicles.
The registration number for August has not yet come. However, officials at Deputy RTO Vashi say that the total number of new electric vehicles could be 300.
