Kerala HC Asks Govt To Draft Rules For EV Charging Points In Housing Complex

The Kerala High Court has directed the state government to take steps to formulate regulations and guidelines pertaining to installation of charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) in apartment complexes.

The order was issued by Justice VG Arun while hearing a petition filed by two residents of Kochi who faced objection from their apartment owners association when they proposed making provision for installing an EV charging point on their own.

Keeping in view the EV policy declared by the Kerala government and the phenomenal increase in the number of EVs in the state, the court observed that “adequate provision ought to be made” to provide charging points in the apartment complexes where the EV owners are residing.

The court asked the state government to take necessary steps in this regard at the “earliest” and submit to it the progress made on it by the next date of hearing. 

The Kerala government’s EV Policy, which was released in 2019, said that in order to ensure sustainability, the state government would promote electric mobility and ensure a robust infrastructure for EVs, including adequate power availability, a network of charging stations, and favourable power tariff.

The state had also set a target of having 10 Lakh EVs on the road in 2022. 

However, as per the latest data provided by the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries, there were 30,775 EVs in Kerala till mid-June. On the other hand, the total number of EVs running across India stood at 13.34 Lakh units.

Meanwhile, as per the same report, as of January this year, Kerala had 39 retail outlets where EV charging facilities were available.

EV Charging Stations Vs EV Adoption

Despite the push by the Centre and various state governments to promote EVs, the EV charging infrastructure in the country has not risen at the same pace as EV adoption.

Availability of a robust charging infrastructure is critical to push the adoption of EVs in the country. Moreover, EV charging stations in apartment buildings would also provide EV owners with more flexibility, cut down the time spent at public charging stations, and ensure more efficiency at the public charging stations.

A recent Redseer report noted that India currently has only about 3,000 EV charging stations, which is around six available charging stations per 1,000 EVs. In comparison, China has about 200 charging stations per 1,000 EVs.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries sanctioned 2,877 EV charging stations last year in 68 cities across 25 states and union territories under phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India Scheme, with Kerala getting sanction for 211 EV charging stations.

However, of the total sanctions across the country, only 50 charging stations were installed as of July 1.

Meanwhile, under phase-I of the FAME scheme, 479 of 520 EV charging stations were installed by the same time, but none of them were in Kerala.

In this context, it is pertinent to note that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recently said that India will have 3 Cr EVs in the next two years.