Some of the city’s parking lots under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation will soon have charging facilities for electric vehicles where government and private players would offer necessary infrastructure against a payment, the state government has decided.
At least three companies have completed their preliminary survey of some of the parking lots in Kolkata where they want to set up infrastructure. Senior KMC officials said a deal with these companies with the details of the profit-sharing will be completed soon.
“We have met the representatives of these companies and discussed the deal in keeping with the norms that are laid down by the Centre for revenue sharing,” said a senior KMC official on Wednesday at a programme to announce a three-day Electric Vehicle Technology Expo at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre.
“The files have been cleared and we expect to sign the deal by this month. Subsequently, these companies will take time to set up the infrastructure,” said the official.
There are around 750 parking lots under the KMC’s supervision in the city where over 6,000 vehicles are parked daily, senior officials of the civic body said.
These companies have expressed their desire to set up charging spots spread across several parking lots across the city and not restrict themselves to a few lots. Each spot will have the facility to charge at least four electric vehicles, senior officials said.
In keeping with the West Bengal government’s policy to promote electric vehicles, the KMC has decided that a portion of some of the parking lots that are at convenient locations will be thrown open to private players to set up charging stations so that electric vehicle users feel encouraged.
Civic body officials said three charging facilities were recently thrown open, including one each at a parking lot in Beckbagan and another in Topsia.
With the response being quite timid till now, the KMC has decided that parts of the parking lots that are convenient to reach from main thoroughfares and easy to get a slot would be thrown open for public-private partnership.
“The motive here is not to make revenue but let electric vehicle users understand that the city has enough options to charge the vehicles and they can bring out their cars for daily use,” the official said.
“The profit-sharing model is laid down by the central government. The revenue will be shared for the space the KMC offers.”
The department of power in West Bengal has drawn up an electric vehicle policy aiming to promote electric mobility in the state.
According to the policy, the government plans to have one million electric vehicles combined across all segments over the next five years, by 2026. The government is also planning to develop 1,00,000 charging stations within the time frame.
EV expo
The state government will hold an Electric Vehicle Technology Expo for three days at the Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, in association with the electric vehicle federation, from December 9.
On December 10, a rally of electric vehicles comprising buses, cars, two-wheelers ande-rickshaws will be held starting from the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre.
The rally will travel down Park Street and PrincepGhat.
