To boost e-vehicles, 100 charging stations planned

The transport department has proposed to set up 100 charging stations across the city to encourage more people to shift to electric vehicles, at a time when the city has 70 lakh registered vehicles dependent on fossil fuels.

Senior officials said the proposal was aimed at complementing the Karnataka Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy, introduced last year, and will work as part of the government's efforts to reduce pollution in the city. The measure, if approved by the government, will be part of the fresh budget being presented by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday.

Transport Commissioner Naveen Raj Singh, who has drawn up the plan, refused to share details, saying the proposal is subject to the government's approval. "It will be premature to speak about it till the budget announcement," he said.

Sources said the charging stations will be opened at strategic locations in the city, which will be chosen after analysing the traffic patterns. "Each station is estimated to cost Rs 4 lakh. The mechanism on how to build it is not yet clear," a source said.

When asked about the funding for the project, principal secretary of the transport department B Basavaraju said there were several plans and a decision will be taken only after the budget approval. "Whether the project should be executed by the government or through public-private partnership (PPP) will be clear after the budget announcement," Basavaraju said.

The proposal comes after the Bangalore Electric Supply Company (Bescom) inaugurated its first charging point at KR Circle in February. Charges were fixed between Rs 3.85 and 4.85 per unit till the Karnataka Energy Regulatory Commission works outs the tariff.