Panchayat Raj Ministry, CESL sign MoU for EV charging on village land

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore electric vehicle charging and battery-swapping stations on land owned by Gram, Block and District Panchayats across states. CESL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

The MoU was exchanged in New Delhi by Mukta Shekhar, Joint Secretary at the Ministry, and Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, CEO of CESL. It sets the framework for the collaboration rather than naming specific sites or timelines.

The pitch is simple: use land that rural bodies already hold, including plots along State and National Highways and spaces near Gram Panchayat offices, to build a widely spread network. Income from running these facilities would count as Own Source Revenue, which Panchayats can spend on local development and rural infrastructure.

For the morning-briefing reader, the market angle matters. The planned infrastructure is meant to serve two-, three- and four-wheelers as well as medium and heavy-duty vehicles. That range points to demand from private riders, goods carriers and long-distance travellers, and could ease a common worry for EV buyers outside big cities: finding a charger on the road.

The division of work is clear. According to Dixit, the Ministry will coordinate with State Panchayati Raj Departments to identify suitable locations and monitor progress. CESL will assess sites, aggregate demand, and supply, install, test and commission the equipment, then operate and maintain the facilities.

The details to watch are the revenue-sharing terms, the number of sites chosen and how quickly states move. If they come together, village land could become a quiet but meaningful part of India's clean-mobility buildout.

Source: Telangana Today

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