Noida’s pollution pill: Switch to EVs for office use, collection of garbage

Noida: With air quality sliding into the hazardous zone, the Noida Authority on Tuesday rolled out a pollution-control roadmap, with a focus on curbing vehicular emissions, accelerating the shift to electric and hybrid vehicles, expanding EV infrastructure, and tightening enforcement against open burning and polluting commercial practices. The plan also includes an immediate ban on coal- and firewood-based tandoors across hotels, restaurants and street eateries until pollution levels improve.Officials identified vehicular emissions as one of the city’s largest pollution sources, particularly in IT parks, institutional hubs and congestion-prone corridors. In a bid to set the tone, the authority has decided to begin with its own fleet.

“Before asking others to act, we want to fix our own house first. Transitioning our vehicles to electric and cleaner fuels is a conscious step to set an example for all stakeholders,” Noida Authority chief executive officer Lokesh M said.All Authority-owned office vehicles will switch to electric models, while sanitation vehicles, among the city’s most intensively used fleets, will be shifted to EV, CNG or BS VI-compliant alternatives. At present, 180 small, 215 mini and 70 large vehicles are deployed daily for door-to-door waste collection across residential and commercial areas.

“Sanitation vehicles operate for long hours every day and have a direct impact on neighbourhood-level air quality. We are assessing the existing fleet to identify vehicles that need immediate replacement,” the CEO said, adding that the move is expected to substantially cut tailpipe emissions.The Authority will relaunch its EV charging programme after a review found earlier installations inadequate in both coverage and performance. A fresh citywide survey has identified 150 potential locations for new charging stations. In the first phase, 81 EV charging stations will be installed within three months.“Several earlier charging stations failed to serve their intended purpose. We are replacing 69 such stations and building a more robust and evenly distributed network,” Lokesh M said. An expression of interest to appoint implementing agencies will be issued shortly.To further support commercial and last-mile EV users, the Authority plans to roll out a battery swapping network for electric two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. Thirteen battery swapping stations, each with two swapping points and a total of 44 batteries, are proposed across Noida by March 2026. The project will be funded through corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions.“Battery swapping cuts downtime from hours to minutes and is particularly useful for delivery and commercial fleets. It lowers upfront vehicle costs and improves operational efficiency,” the CEO said.As part of immediate curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), IT companies and universities have been advised to implement work-from-home arrangements during Stages III and IV phases to reduce peak-hour traffic. Educational institutions have also been asked to shift to online or hybrid classes, defer large campus events for the next one to two months, and encourage students to use public transport instead of private two-wheelers. Institutions have additionally been instructed to carry out regular water sprinkling on roads outside their premises to suppress dust.Industries and commercial establishments have been directed to retrofit diesel generator sets to operate on a 70% gas and 30% diesel mix within seven days. High-polluting units are being flagged for priority inspections.“We have made it clear that factories must not emit polluted air or gases. There will be zero tolerance for violations,” Lokesh M said.