Nitin Gadkari: Over 10 Lakh Electric Vehicles Registered, 1,742 Public Charging Stations Operational

A total of 10,60,707 electric vehicles were registered in India till last week, while 1,742 public charging stations (PCS) are now operational in the country. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said electric charging stations are to be provided by the developer on national highways as part of the wayside amenities (WSAs).

“The number of electric vehicles in the country, as per Vahan 4 data as of March 19, is 10,60,707, and a total of 1,742 Public Charging Stations (PCS), as per Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), are operational in the country as on March 21, 2022," Gadkari said. He said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has already awarded 39 such facilities for development.

Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said 816 fee toll plazas are operational on national highways across the country as of March 21, 2022. On the policy regarding winding up of a toll plaza, he explained that as per National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, in case of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, after completion of the concession period, the user fee is to be collected by the central government at reduced rates of 40 per cent. In the case of public-funded projects, the user fee rates are to be reduced to 40 per cent after recovery of the capital cost of the project, the minister said.

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According to Gadkari, Rajasthan (122), Uttar Pradesh (90) and Madhya Pradesh (77) have the maximum number of fee plazas. Replying to another question, he said about Rs 20,268.45 crore and an amount of Rs 1,189.94 crore has been released/spent on projects sanctioned under the Central Road & Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) and Economic Importance & Interstate Connectivity (EI&ISC) scheme respectively during the last three years.

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