October 03 : Lucknow: Work is being expedited on a plan to expand public charging infrastructure to promote electric vehicles in Uttar Pradesh. Under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, Yogi government, through Uttar Pradesh Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPREDA), is developing public electric vehicle charging stations on a large scale across the state. In the current phase of the scheme, 238 locations have been approved in 20 clusters; the MoU process has been completed for 99 locations, while MoUs for 139 locations are pending.
Under the proposed charging network, 39 locations in Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida-Greater Noida), 6 in Ghaziabad and 35 in Meerut are included in the National Capital Region. In the non-NCR region, 21 locations in Agra, 13 in Prayagraj, 32 in Gorakhpur, 12 in Kanpur, 2 in Kanpur Dehat, 36 in Lucknow, 14 in Mathura and 28 in Varanasi have been proposed. Of the total 238 approved locations, MoUs have been executed for 99.
In the second phase of PM E-DRIVE scheme, a total target of 1,500 locations has been set, keeping in view 8 districts of NCR and freight transport corridor. These include locations of municipal corporations, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, Transport Department, electricity distribution companies, industrial development authorities, Tourism, Finance, Health, Education, Sugarcane Institute and Mandi Committees, among various other departments. So far, 240 locations have been identified, while 1,260 remain to be identified.
Under the second phase, 129 locations have been identified in municipal corporation areas. These include 22 in Aligarh, 13 in Ayodhya, 16 in Bareilly, 15 in Firozabad, 16 in Jhansi, 7 in Moradabad, 5 in Saharanpur, 10 in Shahjahanpur, 8 in Agra, 11 in Kanpur Nagar, 5 in Meerut and one location in Kanpur Dehat. In addition, 74 locations have been identified for Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, 10 for the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority and 26 for electricity distribution companies.
Under this scheme, medical colleges, district hospitals, industrial areas, industrial parks of the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority, universities, Sugarcane Institute centers, Mandi Committees, and locations such as District Magistrate offices, Vikas Bhawan, and tehsil offices have also been included. The proposed public charging stations provide for two DC chargers with a capacity of 60 kilowatts and one AC/DC charger with a capacity of 12 kilowatts. The scheme aims to create accessible, reliable, and extensive public charging infrastructure for electric vehicle users across the state.
Recently, the Chief Secretary was informed that, of the 238 locations identified in NCR and non-NCR areas, 99 MoUs have been signed so far, while MoUs for 139 locations remain pending. Chief Secretary directed all District Magistrates to identify public places, large offices, bus stations, industrial parks, educational institutions, malls, dhabas, parking spaces and other suitable locations in their respective districts and promptly send proposals to the concerned department, so that the process of developing the necessary charging infrastructure for electric vehicles can be taken forward in a time-bound manner.
