The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has initiated the process for setting up more electric vehicle charging stations on highways.
This forms part of the new policy to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the country in order to reduce pollution.
Electric vehicle Charging Stations are to be provided by the developer as part of the Wayside Amenities (WSAs) being awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
NHAI has already awarded 39 such facilities and the proposals for 103 such sites are at bidding stage. Further, additional WSA sites, as and when identified by the Authority, would also be put up for bidding. The works which have been already awarded are expected to be completed by the end of financial year 2022-23, the minister explained in his reply.
The work for setting up of EV charging stations along 16 National Highways and Expressways after Ministry of Heavy Industries had invited proposals from Government Organizations, Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) such as Indian Oil Corporation, power sector DISCOMs to build and operate Public Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure on Expressways and National Highways under FAME India Scheme Phase-II.
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NHAI will also provide space near the toll plazas and its buildings for installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, based on a revenue sharing model Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector company.
The Ministry of Power has also published guidelines and standards for the charging infrastructure of electric vehicles, which are available on [www.powermin.nic.in]. These guidelines stipulate the requirements regarding density/distance between two charging points and specify the priorities for rolling out of electric vehicle public charging infrastructure, the minister added.
