Pune Municipal Corporation establishes a dedicated EV cell to drive electric vehicle adoption in the city.
The Maharashtra State EV Policy has identified Pune as one of the six urban conglomerates to lead Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption in the same state. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), with the technical support of RMI India, is working towards preparing an EV readiness plan to accelerate the mass uptake of EVs.
As a prerequisite for preparing an EV readiness plan, there is a need to establish a well-structured governance mechanism that facilitates the faster adoption of electric vehicles in the city. Therefore, a dedicated EV cell has been established under the leadership of Vikram Kumar, Municipal Commissioner, to enable a seamless EV transition in the city. The government aims to work in tandem with stakeholders and other relevant departments through the constitution of the EV cell with a focus on implementing the plan on the ground.
Following the EV cell establishment, the PMC organized the first working group meeting was on October 13, 2021. The meeting was chaired by Dr Kunal Khemnar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Estates), Pune. The meeting was attended by officials of Pune Municipal Corporation’s Chief Engineer (Project) Department, Environment, Road, Electricity, Development Planning, Chief Accounts & Finance Department, Land Acquisition, Vehicle Depot and other government departments / Like PMPML, Pune Metro, Smart City, CIRT, RTO, Traffic Police, MSEDCL and representatives of MCCIA,
GIZ, Rocky Mountain Institute were present. The discussion concentrated on the roles and responsibilities of all the departments part of the working group and drafting of a plan of action that can be adopted to make Pune city EV ready. As a part of the next step, PMC is going to hold an EV industry convening on October 22, 2021, to seek feedback and suggestions on the structuring and functionality of the EV cel.
As a part of its electric mobility initiative, Pune has also participated in an ongoing Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Global Mayors Challenge, 2021. A total of 631 cities across the world had participated in the Challenge and Pune is among the top 50 champ cities that will emerge as the most innovative urban solution cities.
Pune is one of the first Indian Cities to have dedicated cells to accelerate EV adoption. The presence of collaborative efforts by the stakeholders and smooth governance structure at the local level will support Pune achieve targets under the Maharashtra State EV policy. Learning from Pune can help other Indian cities strengthen their existing EV ecosystem and enable clean energy transition for a sustainable future.
