NEW DELHI: After two top bureaucrats of the Delhi government purchased Electric Vehicles (EVs) of MG Motor Company priced at around Rs 25 lakh each without the approval of the authority/department concerned, the AAP government has stopped the procurement of e-vehicles and is drafting a broader policy to determine the price range of e-vehicles to be procured for bureaucrats, senior officials and field officers in the government department.
After the notification of the EV Policy, the Delhi government had in February directed all departments, autonomous bodies, and grantee institutions to lease/hire/purchase e-vehicles through Government e-Market (GeM) or the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture PSU under Union Ministry of Power.
However, the Net Dealer Price (NDP) for models of e-cars for purchase for the staff or secretary-level officials was not fixed. The two bureaucrats bought these costly vehicles in July-August without following the regular procedure of first seeking approval from the finance department, said a source.
Explaining about the procedure, a senior government official said, "As per the current guidelines, models of cars with NDP of upto Rs4.75 lakh shall only be considered for purchase as staff cars. According to this range, cars worth Rs 8-10 lakh plus were purchased for Secretaries is, Rs 5-6 lakh for middle-level officials and Gypsy, Sumo and other such models for field officers."
The finance department directed the departments to stop the procurement of e-vehicles on August 12 and ordered that “no department will purchase e-vehicles without consulting” it. It noticed that some other departments also purchased e-vehicles without prior approval of the competent authority and thereafter sought ex-post facto expenditure sanctions, said sources.
"Since the scale of entitlement/ceiling of the cost of electric vehicle for the use of staff car purpose is under consuideration in consultation with the Environment Department, Finance Department will not entertain any ex post facto proposals relating to purchase of e-vehicles. All the departments of GNCT of Delhi are also advised to not process proposals of purchase of e-vehicles (except approval already obtained from finance department) till the finalisation of the guidelines on the ceiling and entitlement, " said the Finance department in the order issued on 12 August with the approval of Finance Minister/Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
“Now, with the shift in the policy and considering e-cars for a longer run, there is a need for clarifications of the price range of the cars because the cost of electric cars is costlier than petrol or CNG cars. Thus, the Delhi government is drafting a comprehensive policy to determine the range of e-vehicles to be procured and categorise them as staff cars and field vehicles,” said a senior government official.
The Government is actively considering the usage of electric cars for the departments. The market rate of electric cars and other details will be analysed and a cap will be fixed for purchasing EVs. The new policy will be ready in the next 15 to 20 days, said officials. However, when contacted, the officials concerned refused to comment.