Housing Societies in Mumbai Will Require Norms for Electronic Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

Mumbai, Maharashtra - India
November 2022

The Bombay High Court has received a public interest lawsuit (PIL) seeking a court instruction to the Registrar of Cooperative Housing Societies to create guidelines for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations inside co-operative housing societies.
The divisional court issued notice to all parties and set the case for a hearing on January 6, 2023.
According to the PIL, the current public interest lawsuit is necessary due to the regulatory and legislative void surrounding the installation of EVN charging stations inside co-operative housing societies.
Given the enormous environmental and financial benefits of electric vehicles, the state government's own policy prescriptions, and the central government's policy prescriptions, it is incumbent upon the state government and the Registrar to exercise their authority under the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies (MCS)Act to ensure that the petitioners and other similarly situated individuals are permitted to install charging infrastructure at their garages in the co-operative housing complex.
The petition states that the charging period for electric cars ranges from three to thirty hours, making it necessary that owners of such vehicles have access to charging infrastructure at their homes so they may charge their vehicles overnight or on weekends.
Respondents named in the lawsuit include the government of Maharashtra through the ministry of cooperatives, the Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST).