AOA’s Rs 25k fine on electric vehicle owner sparks a debate over charging infra in Noida’s societies

Noida: A resident of Amrapali Princely Estate has alleged he was fined Rs 25,000 by the Apartment Owners’ Association (AOA) for charging his electric vehicle using his domestic power connection, exposing the widening gap between adoption of such vehicles and supporting infrastructure in residential complexes.
Saurabh Srivastava, who lives on the first floor of Tower O at the Sector 76 society, said the previous AOA had allowed him to charge his Mahindra XUV400 from his flat since purchasing it in Dec 2023.”The previous association had no issues. I would charge my vehicle using a wire running to my parking spot. But ever since the new AOA took charge in Oct last year, its members began objecting to this arrangement,” he said.
According to Srivastava, the conflict escalated on April 16, when the society’s security staff clamped his vehicle. “I had parked the car for charging, but the next morning, I saw it clamped. When I asked the maintenance team to remove it, they issued a fine of Rs 25,000 on me after a heated argument,” he said, calling the penalty “illogical” given the society’s usual fine of Rs 500 for parking in undesignated areas. The society — home to 1,950 flats across 17 towers — currently houses just four electric vehicles.
The AOA dismissed Srivastava’s allegations. Vikas Singh, the society’s AOA president, said the fine did not concern unauthorised parking alone, but was related to what he described as Srivastava’s “inappropriate behaviour” towards the guards.

“This resident abused the security supervisor, who is a retired armed forces official. This is why we fined him Rs 25,000 for misconduct, and an additional Rs 1,000 for the parking violation,” Singh said.
A formal notice from the maintenance office to Srivastava outlined several violations, accusing him of blocking traffic in the driveway of Towers M, N, O, and P, using inappropriate language against the guards, and endangering residents by charging the vehicle through dangling wires. Singh insisted that the society’s seven parking slots were enough for the current EV fleet. “There are only four EVs in the society. Our charging stations have been operational since Dec 8 last year. They are sufficient to cater to the current demand. However, charging through personal domestic meters is prohibited because of safety concerns,” he added.
Noida city currently has nearly 1,505 registered electric cars, or 0.2% of its one million-strong vehicle population.
Although UP govt rolled out an EV Manufacturing and Mobility Policy in 2022 to boost adoption of cleaner vehicles and expand charging infrastructure, it did not regulate charging in group housing societies, creating ambiguity among residents.
Observers said this dispute was indicative of a wider challenge. “While urban centres seek to encourage clean mobility, limited designated charging resources in housing complexes and lack of clarity on standards for personal charging often leave residents exposed to conflicts,” a road scientist said.
According to them, many EV owners prefer to charge their vehicles using domestic connections because household rates are way cheaper than commercial prices. Moreover, charging at designated parking places also means waiting time. This often leads to squabbles with AOA members, who fear overload in the society’s internal wiring could spark a risk of fire in basements or parking lots.
Discom officials, however, said owners could charge their EVs using domestic connections, provided they did not breach the load capacity.