NEW DELHI: After a delay of nearly two years, the Delhi government is set to begin releasing pending subsidy payments to more than 26,800 electric vehicle (EV) owners starting in December, officials told TNIE.
The Transport Department has been withholding nearly Rs 140 crore in dues owed to these beneficiaries despite the extension of the EV policy earlier this year.
Officials in the department said all formalities related to verification and documentation have now been completed, and the proposal is in its final stages of approval.
The move follows a Delhi High Court directive issued on September 3, instructing the government to take immediate steps to clear the pending subsidies. The court had observed that procedural hurdles could not be cited as an excuse for delaying payments to customers who had purchased EVs under the government’s incentive scheme. According to officials, the subsidies have been stalled since April 2024.
According to officials, the department is developing a dedicated digital portal to streamline the subsidy process. The portal will create an electronic record of every transaction and cross-verify details of eligible beneficiaries.
“Duplicate entries have now been removed, and the final beneficiary list is ready. Once the portal’s back end is ready, we will host it. All formalities are expected to be completed this month only,” another senior transport official said.
The new platform will be linked with the national Vahan database to eliminate manual errors and prevent delays in future subsidy payments, the official added.
The current EV policy was launched in August 2020 during the previous AAP government’s tenure. Since its inception, over 2.19 lakh vehicles have benefitted from various incentives, including 1.09 lakh two-wheelers and 83,724 three-wheelers. The government has disbursed around Rs 177 crore in subsidies till 2023.
The current EV policy has been extended until March 31, 2026, as the draft of the new policy is still under preparation and will be opened for public consultation before being finalised.