Blog presents achievements of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, data driven analysis, AAP Ka Radio interviews and discussions on critical issues with possible solutions.
2018 is over. Some of you might be disappointed because another year has gone so quickly and others might be excited for 2019. But 2018 has left its mark in history. For Aam Aadmi Party, it was a successful year in Delhi but it did not mark any assembly level victory in other parts of India. AAP government in Delhi bagged many achievement in 2018. We may not see the immediate effect of many investments in education, infrastructure, health and environment but they definitely are an essential key to a bright future. Doorstep delivery of services is already making an impact by reducing corruption in the capital. If I write all the achievements from 2018, it might be a very long list to compile in a single blog. I wrote around 100 blogs in 2018 which were mainly focused on AAP achievements and stories of selfless volunteers helping AAP to achieve its goals. Lets have a look at some major monthly AAP accomplishments in Delhi in 2018.
Jan 2018: AAP Delhi government launched India's first common mobility card
Feb 2018: AAP Delhi government launched Happiness Curriculum which is being discussed worldwide
Mar 2018: AAP Delhi government launched "Delhi's Date with Democracy", a program promoting hidden talent among people of different ages across Delhi
Apr 2018: AAP Delhi government launched "Mission Buniyad" to improve learning levels in primary classes
May 2018: AAP Delhi government started Spoken English Course in collaboration with British India Council
Jun 2018: Delhi CM and cabinet ministers fasted in LG house urging the office to stop intervening with public works of AAP Delhi government
July 2018: AAP Delhi government increased honorarium to Rs 5 crore for the awarded athletes of Olympic, Asiad and Commonwealth games
Aug 2018: AAP Delhi government limited one vehicle for each official to reduce corruption and overspending
Sept 2018: AAP Delhi government launched doorstep delivery of services
Oct 2018: AAP Delhi government completed the construction of ITO skywalk
Nov 2018: AAP Delhi government dedicated Signature Bride to the people of India. The project was delayed multiple times and was pending from more than 10 years
Dec 2018: AAp Delhi government launched Electric Vehicle Policy and started procuring electric buses to make Delhi free from vehicular pollution
Special thanks to Vikash Kedia for putting down achievements in graphics.
Advertisements, I enjoy watching them. Sometimes I like to watch ads more than the episode on TV. Same goes on social media. Ads are usually promoted/sponsored on social media. While browsing through your timeline, you might see a single ad couple of times. Recently I watched an ad from Gymshark on twitter promoting gym culture as a new year resolution. The 10 second video clip had both male and female models working on weights.
I found that the clip was misleading and confirming the stereotype among people. It was more focused on projecting males as muscular men with muscles and veins; and females as cute faces with breasts. Both male and female models appeared twice in the 10 sec video clip (first male, then female and repeat). Lets see what the ad is trying to show us by looking at the first and last frames of model appearances (entire ad is embedded at the end).
Appearance 1: First frame of male and female models Camera focus is on the entire gym for male model whereas for female model the focus is mainly on her upper body and gym is out of focus.
Pic 1: First frame of male and female models in first-time appearance in video
Appearance 1: Last frames of male and female modelsFor male model, camera pans with the entire body in frame and gym area in focus. For female model, camera stays focused on her upper body with the rest of the gym area out of focus.
Pic 2: Last frame of male and female models in first-time appearance in video
Appearance 2: First frames of male and female modelsSecond appearance emphasizes on muscles and veins of the male model. Female model is shown in the entire frame without any background gym equipment in sight in comparison to the male model in first frame of his first appearance (pic 1).
Pic 3: First frame of male and female models in second-time appearance in video
Appearance 2: Last frame of male and female modelsCamera stays focused on the veins and muscles of male model whereas for the female it pans back to her upper and front sides.
Pic 4: Last frame of male and female models in second-time appearance in video
Marketing affects our thoughts irrespective of if it being done in a right or wrong manner. We are fighting for equal rights for both men and women and essentially no one gender is less or more than the other. It is confusing for me to digest an advertisement that tries to sell their product on the assumption that men command more substance and women in general exist only for their looks. Plus I have never seen any female gym-goer with the impractical hairstyle show in the ad. If we support such marketing, discrimination based on gender will never end. Lets represent everyone equally.
With the vision of investment in people (similar to health and education), Delhi government has intensified strategies on investment in environment. Almost 30% of pollution in Delhi is due to petrol/diesel vehicular transportation. To deal with this pollution, Delhi Govt has increased the budget of Transportation Department to 23%. Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 (EV Policy) is the latest change made by Delhi Govt. The subsidy via EV Policy is not about funding electric vehicle, rather, it is an investment in people’s health. Average life of a person in Delhi is reduced by 3 years. It took decades to reach at this stage. To reverse this effect, we need to improve air quality. EV Policy is a baby step taken in this direction.
EV Policy is mainly focused on making private mode of transportation more sustainable. AAP Govt has also given a special attention to public transport managed by the Govt which is responsible for around 5% pollution in Delhi. Electric buses are the solution to deal with this pollution. Delhi Govt has already started the process to procure 1000 electric buses. Three electric trial buses have already hit the roads. Delhi government is collecting environment cess from its residents to procure electric buses.
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot flagging off trail run of electric buses. 1st Bus (left) was flagged off on Nov 2 to run between Ambedkar Nagar and Inderpuri, 2nd Bus (middle) was flagged off on Nov 26 to run on Teevra Mudrika route and 3rd Bus (right) was flagged off on Dec 27 to run on route 534 between Anand Vihar ISBT and Mehrauli
Revolutionizing Public Transport: Right from the beginning, AAP Govt in Delhi has been focused on building world class public transport system. Delhi metro is one of the best in the world and is responsible for ⅓rd of Delhi’s transportation needs. Rest of the population uses buses (and private vehicles). Transport reforms are taking place in phases.
1) Increased Passenger Capacity: Passenger capacity can be increased by adding more buses but more buses require more depots. 40% of present depots in Delhi have been constructed by Delhi government in the past 3 years. After some administrative procurement issues, 3000 new buses are being procured which might hit the roads by Mar 2019.
2) Route Rationalization: While studying routes in Delhi streets it was found out that routes are not only old, but they also did not adapt to geographic and population changes. It was also revealed that multiple buses arrive at one time and leave empty. In order to solve these issues, data and scientific processing techniques are used to find optimal bus routes. It is for the first time when a comprehensive route rationalization is being performed in Delhi. 3000 new buses will hit the optimized routes.
3) Approachable Bus Stop: New routes will have a bus stop within 500 meters of each house and there won’t be more than 15 mins of waiting time.
4) Convenience: Public transport must be convenient and accessible. To make it convenient, 2000 out of 3000 buses will be air-conditioned (1000 buses were ordered prior to the new study). All electric buses will also be air-conditioned.
5) Mobility Card, Tracking and Display: ONE Card has already been launched which can be used in DTC buses and Delhi Metro. A mobile app has also been developed where buses can be tracked in real-time and their arrival and departure time will also be displayed. In coming years, major bus stops will be equipped with digital displays showing waiting, arrival and departure time of buses.
A Delhi resident showing common mobility card (ONE card)
6) Safety: A marshall will be available in each bus and the bus will be equipped with CCTV cameras and panic buttons. Installation of CCTV cameras and panic button is in tendering process and we can see these changes in the next 6-8 months.
7) Affordability: Key for a successful public transport is affordability. If it is too expensive then people will switch to other modes of transportation. To make delhi transport more affordable, rates are being reduced, students are given free ridership, senior citizens are given discounts and 10% discount is offered when using ONE Card.
Of all new buses that will be procured by Delhi Transport department, at-least 50% will be electric. As the infrastructure gets more electric transport friendly, number of electric buses will increase leading to a 100% usage in Delhi. Due to all these measures combined, Delhi government is very hopeful that public transport will improve to become the number one choice among Delhi residents.
In the past three years, Delhi government has also worked on other measures for environmental protection. To fight pollution in Delhi, some of the key initiatives and actions taken by Delhi government are:
Increase Green Coverage: Tree plantation drives are being organized across Delhi. The CEO of Delhi Parks and Garden Society is closely monitoring the 2017-18 tree plantation targets and compiling data on tree census.
Ban on Electricity Generators: Delhi govt is banning usage of electricity generators running on petrol/kerosene/diesel as and when pollution level goes high in specific areas. Government has ensured regular power supply in the past 3 years and unscheduled power cuts have reduced drastically. As a result, use of diesel power generators has also reduced.
Air Pollution Monitoring Stations: As of now, Delhi has 48 monitoring stations which is on par with developed countries.
Water Guns, Water Sprinkling and Artificial Rain: During seasons that showed dangerous air quality levels, Delhi government used water guns and helicopters to sprinkle water in large areas, and water tankers to sprinkle water on roads to reduce dust pollution. The Govt also notified contractors to sprinkle water in construction sites and cover under-construction buildings. Delhi govt also wrote to Centre to consider cloud seeding, a process that induces artificial rain and help settle pollutants and clear smog.
Anti-smog gun in action (left) and Delhi municipal corporation workers sprinkling water on trees (right)
Odd-Even: Delhi government introduced Odd-Even rule to deal with vehicular pollution.
Ban on Diesel Vehicles: Delhi Govt banned the sale of diesel vehicles and sent a list of 1.91 lakh diesel vehicles older than 15 years to Delhi Police and asked the force to impound them in accordance with the order of National Green Tribunal. The govt also banned entry of heavy and medium size vehicles from time to time.
E-Rickshaw: In July 2017, Delhi Govt released a subsidy of Rs 30,000 each to 6,000 e-rickshaw owners registered with the government. E-rickshaws are pollution free as they run on batteries.
Action Against Polluters: Govt sealed 22 bars and eateries in Hauz Khas, seized 20,008 kg of plastic bags, and fined Rs. 50,000 to each of the 14 construction sites of Delhi Metro.
Cut-Off Date for Euro-IV Emission: Delhi Govt revised cut-off date for implementation of Euro-VI emission norms to Jan 1, 2017 instead of Jan 1, 2019.
Transportation Budget: AAP Govt increased transportation budget to 23%. 3000 buses cleared for procurement. The Govt is also buying electric buses.
Graded Response Action Plan: Delhi govt is working on strategies to address different levels of air pollution as per National Air Quality Index (AQI) adopted by GOI, submitted by Central Pollution Control Board on 25th November, 2016 before Supreme Court.
Banned Nylon Threads: Non-biodegradable nylon is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution in Delhi. Government decision to ban nylon threads came few days before 2018 Independence Day.
Above mentioned efforts by the Delhi Government are related to dealing with day to day air pollution in delhi. However, there are certain days in the months of oct/nov when pollution level reaches dangerous levels. This effect is seen across a belt of neighbouring countries including Afghanistan and Pakistan (see satellite images from 2017 and 2018). Delhi government efforts may not be able to control seasonal pollution, but overall they are efficient in dealing with pollution in the city.
Unlike animals, human psyche is a paradox. We continuously learn new things culturally and at the same time carry a strong feeling that new things are related to past. We justify them as an extension of the glorious past. The affection for past is unique among humans. Our past becomes stories of the present and continue to grow with generations. However, we don't carry along all the stories from past, we develop new stories and drop old or irrelevant ones. With time we get organized with family, friends and community which becomes a tradition leading to culture. Every community organizes itself differently so that their cultures also become different. As culture keeps changing with generation and locations, one culture can be better than others depending on the people in a particular community. Culture too is nothing but nostalgia. Culture translates from one generation to another via human social traditions based on their memories.
We all started with the search of resources and migrated from one part of the world to another. Our numbers kept increasing and populations settled along their way. To protect our resources we created boundaries and attacked on different territories. Many territories maintained their resources and others looted accessible areas. Hunger for better resources is still making people to migrate from one country to another. As we migrate, our cultures also migrate which generates a new set of culture as it mixes with others. As a larger group we might be following one trend but if we look into different cultures, we are divided into different sections. Today we see racism, fascism, casteism and communalism. These are derived from pride in culture. We developed fire, shelter, transportation and started growing our food. But the pride in culture which developed with human evolution kept us divided.
With time we gained stability which earned us free time. As a result, we started going down the memory lane more frequently. We also started focusing on other issues not necessarily related to human survival. Germany of the late 1930's, USA of 21st Century, India post liberalization, all are relatively more stable and affluent and hence more prone to nostalgia. In the absence of an absolute sense of danger, nostalgia reaches its peak.
With the Church getting all powerful, came inquisitions, with brahminical supremacy came bloody sacrifices and feudalism, with the rise of German industrial supremacy, came Hitler's holocaust, with crude oil economic boom, came Arab wahabism, with the post '91 liberalization boom came BJP, and with the post unipolar US hegemony over world came Trump. World over, cultural supremacy ideology's fulcrum has been invoking nostalgia in the garb of culturalism. And right wings invariably thrive only in stable eras.
Conversely, the governance model of supremacists is so flawed that the same stability which ushered them into power turns into chaos because of its fundamental contradictions. Chaos then leads to instability, to unrest, finally onto confrontation, by which time supremacists have absolute power at their command.
The colossal historical events which defeated these masquerades were either the use of force aka WW II, Afgan invasion etc or through renaissance which was but a redefinition of classical Greek philosophy. Hermits such as Buddha, Mahavira, Shankaracharya simply redefined existing ideology without overtly criticizing, in fact borrowing heavily from the old ones.
Point is simple...history shows that although a society under slavery can be liberated politically -ala American revolution, societies that buy onto the illusion of glorious past are either shown their physical worthlessness by an external aggressor or are demolished by simple scholastic men propagating an ideology which validly claims to symbolize an older glory, capturing an essence further back in time.
Two times MLA from Malviya Nagar (Delhi), former Law Minister and Lawyer turned politician, Somnath Bharti is the founding member of Aam Aadmi Party. He has known Arvind Kejriwal since 2010. After anti-corruption movement when people were divided if a political party should be formed or not, Arvind Kejriwal was not in the favour forming of a political party. Somnath Bharti was one of the individuals who supported the idea and convinced Arvind Kejriwal to form a political party. Journey of Aam Aadmi Party started by wining 28 seats out of 70 during 2013 Delhi assembly elections followed by 4 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 general election, 20 in Punjab assembly elections and 67 seats during 2015 Delhi assembly elections. Since its formation, AAP is continuously growing. Legislative Reforms and PILs: Somnath Bharti always wanted to bring legislative reforms in India. This is the reason that after completing MSc degree from IIT Delhi, he joined law school at Delhi University. Generally, law professionals opt for internship programs for couple of years after completing their degree but Somnath directly went to Delhi High Court and started practicing law after registering with the Bar Association. He is also a lawyer at Supreme Court of India. He practices civil as well as criminal law but majority of his time goes in fighting for public interest issues through PILs. He brought justice to children against a doctoral dictate of the central government and nine youth maliciously frames during Nirabhya protest with murder of a policeman. Later he joined anti-corruption movement lead by Anna Hazare in 2011. Somnath was part of Civil Society demanding Jan Lokpal and represented it in the Supreme Court of India. While arguing in the court, one of the judges told him that their demands are not legitimate and to fulfil those, one need to join politics. This is when the political journey of Somnath started and AAP was born.
Somnath Bharti and others
Political approach of Somnath Bharti is unique and there are three programs for which he is well known:
Decentralization of his constituency: He divided the entire Malviya Nagar constituency into 35 sabhas and mapped his constituency in 40 whatsapp groups where he keeps in touch with each member of his constituency.
Home visits: He visits the home of at least one resident in each sabha on a fixed day and has one meal per day at the house of one of the residents in his constituency. So far he has been to 1200+ homes as part of his planned visits.
Facebook live: Every morning, he does a facebook live session about his work in Malviya Nagar constituency.
Interesting Political Journey: With merely 6 years of political experience and less than 4 years of governance in Delhi, Somnath Bharti has started seeing the desired change in politics. He describes his journey as interesting rather than ordinary. A bunch of people who committed themselves to serve humanity via politics keep political reforms alive in the country. At all cost we have to serve the nation to bring the dreams of people who died for its cause come true. Whether it was Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose or Bhagat Singh, it was their work, dedication and conviction that made them successful. In order to bring a change in society, one does not require money, but a vision and dream. By sticking to principals, AAP has been able to achieve multiple milestones in a short period of political time.
Fighting for Change: Many people joined the political revolution, left and others keep on joining. People might have joined AAP with a different agenda, and when they found it unfulfilling, they decided to leave AAP. Somnath Bharti’s view on people leaving AAP due to lack of satisfaction is that we are fighting to change a system developed over 100 years and the process can not be completed in just a few years. It needs a lot of patience on the part of everyone involved. Only people capable of bearing pain and dreaming big will be able to change the system. In Malviya Nagar Constituency, every family member is connected with their MLA who is also available at all times. Democracy is about empowering the normal citizen and this is what we have been dreaming since the beginning.
Somnath Bharti with Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia during a protest organized by Delhi CM
Political Responsibilities and Family: Being AAP in-charge of south India, MLA and lawyer, Somnath Bharti needs to do a lot of travelling. During his long travels, his family sacrifices the most and for that he is really thankful to his wife for her understanding. Reduced time for family also led to a family issue when his wife filed a complaint against him. Before filing the complaint, Somnath’s wife went for consultation with Barkha Singh, DCW chairperson at the time. She took the matter politically and turned Somnath’s wife against him leading to a police complaint. Barkha Singh is known for denying to meet rape victims on holidays, who were looking for justice from DCW chairperson. During that time, media was hungry (still is) for any news against AAP and it was a perfect opportunity for them. The matter has ended well as the family is reunited and living together happily.
Spirituality: Somnath is also a regular practitioner of Vipassana. He learnt meditation from his late father. It keeps him calm and focused. He starts his day around 5am with meditation and ends around midnight. Unless people who draw power from their insights are not joining the politics, political reforms are very far from reality. People who draw their power from attractions in the outside world such as position, wealth and connections will continue destroying our ecosystem. Some gurus or babas coming in the support of certain leaders is not spiritual politics. It has to come from a candidate himself/herself. There is so much pain around you, many Indians don’t have a roof to sleep, clothes to wear and food to eat. As a politician, one has a greater responsibility of taking care of their fellow countrymen by providing them the basic facilities they need.
Hope: Somnath firmly believe that honest people will come forward and support Aam Aadmi Party whenever needed. Arvind Kejriwal fought India’s richest people to keep the electricity prices low. Lower electricity prices are additional savings for the people of Delhi. When we approach people with the same logic, people understand the importance of honest politics in India. Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP MLAs have already started going door-to-door and campaigning for upcoming elections. Selfless people who got no lust for money are coming in to support AAP.
Somnath Bharti during 2015 election campaign in Delhi
Vote for MP/MLA: The argument of Modi vs Rahul vs Kejriwal should be stopped and we need to focus our energy on issue based debates. Indian democracy is different than American where they vote for a president. We vote for MP/MLA who further choose prime minister or chief minister accordingly. If we choose deserving MP/MLA who really wants to bring change, we will start witnessing the change in our country. Further, good candidates will always select good leaders. If we vote for leaders, we may end up electing wrong MP/MLA who will further deteriorate the Indian system using corruption as a tool to build personal image or engage in illegal activities.
Availability: In Malviya Nagar, MLA Somnath Bharti is available to people all the time whenever he is in town. But the elected MP from BJP has rarely been seen after voting day. It is understandable that a MP needs to be present in Lok sabha so many of them moved to Delhi but what stops a MP from engaging in Delhi? While meeting with residents, Somnath also educate people about the need of a people friendly MP. Delhi is more interesting because control over police, law and land lies with the central government. When any incident happens in Delhi, people are helpless and do not know where to go and whom to approach. Presence of MP in their constituency will make the situation different because MP, police, law and order falls under the central government umbrella.
Perception about AAP: There is news claiming that AAP may not come back in Delhi with the same intensity as 67/70. But at the same time media can not be trusted as there has been very little support from them and their prediction was never right in the past. Somnath and other MLAs are on the ground and in contact with local people. People in Delhi and across India praise the work done by AAP. AAP started good but roadblocks by LG office and central government slowed it down. This resulted in MCD elections where AAP won less than expected seats. This is because people perceived AAP wrongly. They thought AAP was responsible for everything in Delhi including works such as cleaning streets, laying pipelines, managing police and making laws. In reality there are three bodies in Delhi: MP, MLA and councillor. All of them have different duties and powers. Now, people are being educated about different bodies and their responsibilities. It can be clearly seen that the perception about AAP is changing day by day as people are getting aware more.
Work done in the area of health, education, transport, infrastructure, services and environment is being discussed worldwide. Each AAP MLA is easily accessible setting up new standards and challenging other parties. VIP culture in Delhi has been abolished as anyone whether they are poor or rich can meet their MLA and ask questions. It is slow change and success of AAP can not be judged based on merely 4 years of governance. There is long way to go and a long battle to fight. Change come slowly and it has started from Delhi.
Watch following video of AAP Ka Radio conference call with Somnath Bharti.
In a major move to fight pollution, Delhi Government has come up with the most progressive Electric Vehicle (EV) policy in India. The policy received positive feedbacks from environmentalists and car manufacturers. Vice chairperson of Dialogue and Development Commission, Delhi and former adviser to Delhi transport minister, Jasmine Shah (read more about Jasmine and outcome budget) worked on drafting the EV policy. The draft policy is available in public domain and accepting public comments by Dec 26, 2018. You can send your comments to dcops05@gmail.com. In the past, Jasmine also worked on Delhi Outcome Budget 2017-18.
FAME India: India’s first electric vehicle program, FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) India was launched in 2015. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the policy but it did very little which could otherwise lead to a drastic shift towards the usage of electric vehicles in India. In 2015, FAME India budget was around 500 crore towards electric vehicle purchase incentives for 2 years. After 4 years, only around 300 crores are spent. As of today, less than 0.1% of cars sold in India are completely electric and less than 0.2% of two wheelers are sold with advanced electric battery.
A comparison of FAME-India budget allocation and expenditure with number of electric vehicles in India
Leaders in Electric Vehicles: An electric vehicle policy will gain momentum only when it addresses the problems of consumers who want to switch towards electric vehicles. China has been leader in electric buses, Taiwan in higher power electric two wheelers and Norway in electric cars. Delhi team thoroughly studied policies and models from other countries and drafted a comprehensive policy suited for their residents. The policy offers substantial incentives for electric vehicles with a major focus on two wheelers in Delhi.
It is for the first time when price of electric two wheeler is brought down to a number less than the conventional petrol two wheeler.
Upfront Cost and per km Cost of EV: Fuel consumption per kilometer and upfront cost are the first two concerns that come into the mind of a consumer going to make a motor vehicle purchase. With all the incentives from Delhi government (along with those from central government), high power electric vehicle cost has been brought down to Rs 45,000 - 50,000 which was originally Rs 65,000 (considering Honda Activa as standard). An average petrol two wheeler costs around Rs 1.5/km (petrol prices going high day by day) whereas a high power electric two wheeler costs around Rs 0.20/km. Battery is the biggest investment in electric vehicles and with swappable battery model, owners will not be required to buy new batteries.
Comparison of electric vehicle cost and operating cost per kilometer
Swappable Battery Model: Delhi government EV policy will introduce a swappable battery model. Compared to CNG/Petrol gas stations, swappable kiosks and charging stations will require less space. Travel range of electric vehicle owners will be increased by providing kiosks and stations every 3 km. These will be constructed under the bridges, existing parking lots, bus depots, metro stations etc. Vehicle owners can swap the battery in 2-3 mins without leaving their vehicles for hours to charge. Pollution: Environmental conditions due to pollution are worsening day by day in all the major cities in India and Delhi is one of them. The introduced EV policy won’t affect the increased pollution in the months of Sept, Oct and Nov (caused by farmers from Haryana and Punjab) but it will reduce overall pollution in Delhi and improve air quality. Around 30% of Delhi’s daily pollution is vehicular pollution. A major chunk of this pollution is due to trucks which is being controlled by banning truck entries, environmental cess and construction of expressways. Rest of the pollution is caused by two wheelers (7% pollution), three wheelers (5% pollution), buses (5% pollution) and four wheelers. Current EV policy is targeting to reduce around 20% of Delhi pollution with the introduction of policy for consumers and purchase of electric buses for public transportation.
Pollution distribution in Delhi and target reduction via electric vehicle policy
New Sector and Opportunities: With a target of introducing 25% total electric vehicles in the next 5 years, Delhi government is also opening doors for the electric vehicle sector. Delhi will require many maintenance and charging stations, which will create jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities. EV policy also has a provision for Delhi residents to establish a swapping battery kiosk if they have enough space to accommodate vehicles to swap batteries. A new course on electric vehicle repair and maintenance will be introduced in Delhi Govt’s World Class Skill Centres. All the graduates from Skill Centres will have an opportunity to catch up with the rising technology sector in Delhi. Power Requirements: It is very natural to think that the demand for power will increase as 25% of vehicles will be electric. This does not seem to be a problem in Delhi. Northern grid, from where Delhi gets most of its power supply is a power surplus grid. Power discoms were also consulted when the policy was being drafted. They all agreed and said power won’t be any issue and gave their consent to setup kiosks and stations on lands identified by the Delhi government. Feebate System: A major shift in usage of electric vehicle will occur only if they are cheap and support robust infrastructure. Even if we achieve both the conditions, certain users may still not be ready to change their habits. To bring about a shift towards new technology, there has be an element of disincentive by imposing heavy restrictions on polluting vehicles. Many cities across the world follow this concept. EV policy offers large scale incentives and subsidies for electric vehicle purchase. Where the money will come from? Like Norway, Singapore, Denmark and Netherlands, Delhi govt will be using feebate system to channelize the subsidized cost. A major portion of this cost will be supported by the Delhi government. Healthy life comes with a choice and whenever it comes to environment, polluters need to pay. With a vision of investment in people through health and education, Delhi government has also decided to invest in environment. Poor air in Delhi is reducing the lifespan of people by introducing deadly diseases. We need to switch towards green energy. The subsidy introduced with EV policy is not about funding electric vehicle, it is an investment into securing the health of people. A study showed that the average life of people in Delhi has reduced by 3 years. As it took decades to reach at the current stage, it might take the same amount of time to get rid of the harmful effects. If we want to see the change, we need to act now. Environmental impact due to pollution can be reversed and EV policy is a baby step in this direction. If certain aspects are left which you feel are important and need to be addressed, please send your feedbacks to dcops05@gmail.com by Dec 26, 2018. You can access the electric vehicle policy here. Watch Jasmine Shah with Akshay Marathe explaining EV policy in Delhi and pollution control measures taken by Transport Department of Delhi government.
