Delhi: Charging stations for commercial vehicles to be set up at Okhla, Narela, Dwarka bus depots
New Delhi (PTI): In a bid to boost adoption of electric vehicles in the city, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has started process for setting up charging stations for commercial vehicles including buses and trucks at Okhla, Narela and Dwarka at a cost of around Rs 11 crores, officials said on Saturday.
In order to set up charging stations at cluster bus depots at Dwarka Sector 22, Narela and Okhla, the DTC has floated tenders for engaging approved and eligible contractors registered with Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Military Engineer Services (MES), Railways, PWD and other government agencies.
The work will involve installing and commissioning 1,600 KVA compact substations for supplying power to 240 KW EV chargers meant for commercial vehicles including buses and trucks, a senior DTC officer said.
The move is aligned with the Delhi government's plans to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and to convert the entire public bus transport fleet into e-buses, in a bid to curb air pollution.
In November last year, the DTC started work for setting up charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles at nine of its bus depots at Rohini Sector 37, Keshopur, Nangloi, Kalkaji, Sukhdev Vihar, Nand Nagri, Ghazipur, and Hasanpur, according to a transport department officer.
Charging facilities for heavy commercial vehicles require high powered direct current (DC) chargers. Private players are already expanding the infrastructure, and now the DTC is towing the line with an aim to transition its entire bus fleet to e-vehicles by the end of the year, officials said.
The charging stations, equipped with 240 KW DC chargers, at Narela, Dwarka Sector 22 and Okhla depots will have an LCD touchscreen human interface and LED lights for charging status indication.
Additionally, there will be metering of the power consumed with an accuracy up to one percent deviation, one hour battery backup for communication, and an emergency push stop button. The user interface will be enabled through a mobile app, QR code, radio frequency ID (RFID) card and via payment options, officials said.
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Can't say when I'll return to India; legally barred from leaving UK: Mallya to Bombay HC
Mumbai (PTI): Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, facing multiple cases of fraud and money laundering, told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that he cannot say when he will return to India as he is legally barred from leaving the UK.
In a statement submitted through his counsel Amit Desai to the high court, Mallya said he did not have an active passport after it was revoked and hence, he cannot give a definite date of return to India.
The statement was submitted after a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad made it clear last week that it would not hear Mallya's plea against the order declaring a fugitive economic offender until he returns to India.
The court had then asked the former liquor to clarify whether or not he intended to return to India.
Mallya, based in the United Kingdom since 2016, has filed two petitions in the HC -- one challenging an order declaring him a fugitive economic offender and the other questioning the constitutional validity of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
The 70-year-old liquor baron is accused of defaulting on multiple loan repayments of several thousand crores and facing money laundering charges.
The businessman, in his statement to HC, said he cannot give a definite date for his return as he does not have his Indian passport, which was revoked by the government in 2016, and also because there are orders of courts in England and Wales that prohibit him from leaving the country.
"Mallya is not permitted to leave or attempt to leave England and Wales or apply for or be in possession of any international travel document. In any event, the petitioner is unable to precisely state when he will return to India," Desai read out the statement in the court.
The senior counsel reiterated that Mallya's presence was not required in the country for the court to hear his pleas against the fugitive tag and the provisions of the Act.
"If he (Mallya) were to appear in India, then all these proceedings would be rendered irrelevant as the statute says that once the offender appears in the concerned court of law, then all these orders would be set aside," Desai told the court.
The bench directed the Union government to file its reply to Mallya's statement and posted the matter for further hearing next month.
Mallya was declared a Fugitive Economic Offender in January 2019 by a special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The businessman left India in March 2016.
