In a u-turn, Chandigarh automobile dealers withdraw EV policy cases after assurance of lifting of ban on two-wheelers | Chandigarh News
2 min readAutomobile dealers in Chandigarh Wednesday agreed to withdraw all four cases they filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the Electric Vehicle Policy of 2022. This was after the administration assured them of relaxation in restrictions and the lifting of the ban on fuel-based two-wheelers in a meeting held at Raj Bhavan in the morning.
The Federation of Chandigarh Region Automobile Dealers confirmed the development to The Indian Express after the meeting chaired by Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit.
“Our lawyer has submitted the same (withdrawal of cases) in the court. We have been told that once their counsel gives them a confirmation that we have withdrawn our cases, the relaxation would be given immediately and no ban would be in place,” said an automobile dealer who was part of the meeting. He added that the Union Territory officers also agreed to review the entire policy on November 27.
The dealers had moved the high court on the Chandigarh administration’s ban on the fuel-based two-wheelers, saying such a ban before Diwali affected their sales.
Over 700 vehicle bookings for Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali festivals on November 10, were blocked due to the ban.
There are, on average, 10 dealerships in the UT, and dealers said that all of them have around 70 bookings each with them, all stuck due to the ban.
The ban came into force last week as the UT stated that it completed registering 13,685 two-wheelers, including the extended target set by the administration for the current financial year, to encourage the sale of electric vehicles.
The decision greatly impacted not just traders but many of those who had made bookings for the two-wheelers, keeping in view the festive season. Automobile dealers said most buyers were going to Punjab and Haryana to buy the vehicles and get them registered there instead of Chandigarh.
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Noting the festive season and protests by traders, the UT administration, on October 18, allowed 1,609 more two-wheelers to be registered in the city for this financial year after imposing a cap of 12,076, according to the EV policy.
The traders had claimed that the ban would bring a “black Diwali” for them, and they would face losses worth Rs 2 crore per dealer on average for the stock already purchased. The dealers also said that around 2,500 families of its employees would be affected by the ban.
There are about 10 automobile dealers in the city who sell around 20,000 fuel-based two-wheelers each year, with an approximate sale of 1,600 units each month. During the festive season, the monthly sales jump to around 4,000.