New Delhi: The Delhi Government now has to set up dedicated bank accounts to transfer subsidies to eligible beneficiaries or purchasers of electric vehicles under the Delhi EV Policy, 2020.
Coming down hard on the Delhi Government on 3 September, the Delhi High Court said the lack of a fixed deadline cannot justify the delay in disbursing subsidies.
A bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, said, “The government is using as a shield the fact that the Delhi EV Policy, 2020, has no fixed timeline for disbursing these subsidies. Such a ground, in our opinion, is not available to the government.”
Disposing of the plea filed by advocate Yogesh Goel on behalf of an NGO called the Jan Seva Welfare Society, the two-judge bench has directed the Delhi Government’s transport department to set up dedicated bank accounts to transfer the promised payouts.
What was the 2020 EV Policy?
The Delhi Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy was introduced in August, 2020, to promote the adoption of electric vehicles. At the time it was being introduced, the Delhi government (Aam Aadmi Party) had said that despite the government’s push, the pace of EV purchases would not meet expectations.
This led the AAP-led Delhi government to notify a set of measures that would bolster the adoption of such vehicles.
Some of the incentives promised to people buying EVs included financial subsidies, waiver of road tax and registration fee, a wide network of charging stations, public databases of charging stations.
As a result, in the last four years, EV sales have gone up tremendously in Delhi.
In June, this year, however, the president of the NGO Jan Seva Welfare Society, Ajay Aggarwal filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005, addressed to the Delhi government’s transport department, which sought information on the details of disbursement. Shortly after, the department responded with a “vague and evasive reply”, the plea filed before the Delhi HC through advocate Yogesh Goel said.
According to official data released by the Delhi government in June, in response to the NGO’s RTI, the 78,158 eligible beneficiaries had received subsidies amounting to Rs 179.35 crore, while subsidies worth Rs 48.36 crore were yet to be paid.
Dissatisfied with the government’s response, Jan Seva filed an appeal under Section 19 of the RTI Act, against the “unsatisfactory and vague” responses given by the government in July.
Days later, the Delhi government responded once again saying that, “The delay in your subsidy disbursement is due to the ongoing process of setting up a new bank account for direct subsidy payments. We are currently seeking approval from the Finance Department to finalise this.” The transport department also said that once approved by the concerned authority, the disbursement process would become more efficient.
Armed with these “vague” responses, the NGO made its way to the Delhi High Court, which, on 3 September, directed the Delhi government to expeditiously release the subsidies in favour of the beneficiaries of the 2020 policy.
In its PIL, the NGO said that a total of Rs 48.36 crore was still waiting to be disbursed by the Delhi Government, and sought to constitute a committee or a monitoring cell, which includes subject-matter experts and representatives from civil society organisations to ensure the timely delivery of EV subsidies.
Failure to honour its promises would amount to a violation of the rights to equality and life under Articles 14 and 21 on the part of the government, the plea said, while adding that the absence of fixed timelines for disbursal coupled with the lack of transparency, and a grievance-redressal mechanism shone the light on a clear deficiency in procedural safeguards.
In a nutshell, the petitioners sought disbursement of Rs 48 crore to beneficiaries under the 2020 scheme. They also sought the framing of timelines for processing and disbursing subsidy in future.
What the court ordered
On 3 September, the Delhi High Court directed the now BJP-led Delhi government to give necessary approvals to the transport department for opening a new bank account for disbursing subsidies under the Delhi EV Policy, 2020, in a timely manner.
Taking note of the fact that the government had the funds but still hadn’t disbursed the subsidies which ran into crores of rupees now, owing to “procedural” factors like delay in setting up bank accounts, the court directed the Delhi government’s transport department to set up dedicated bank accounts.
The court then disposed of the plea, but a detailed order is still awaited.
Speaking to ThePrint, advocate Yogesh Goel, who represented Jan Seva in the case, said, “The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government to expeditiously release the pending subsidy amounts to eligible beneficiaries or purchasers of electric vehicles under the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, 2020.”
The release of amounts worth approximately Rs 48 crore remains pending, despite hardships suffered by the intended beneficiaries, Goel told ThePrint. “The Division Bench led by Chief Justice Upadhyay categorically observed that the government cannot take shelter under the absence of prescribed timelines in the EV policy to justify inordinate delays.”
Delhi government’s stance
Advocate Sameer Vashisht, who appeared for the Delhi government, said that they had initiated the process of disbursing the promised subsidies, but this required the setting up of a new bank account for which approval of the concerned authorities was required.
The Delhi government’s counsel said that it would set up the account as soon as possible while adding that it had already initiated the process.
On 19 June, this year, after the NGO filed an RTI application, seeking details of the disbursement, the Delhi government responded that despite the policy being launched more than five years back, “technical issues in the Delhi Incentive Portal” had caused delays. It also said that as soon as these technical issues were fixed, disbursal would begin.
Another argument made by the Delhi government in its RTI response was that the Transport Department was migrating to the Public Financial Management System, for direct disbursement of subsidies to beneficiaries. This integration would make the payment process faster and transparent, going forward, it said.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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