Panchayat land to power rural EV push under Centre-CESL pact

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Mukta Shekhar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, CEO of EESL, exchanging copies of an MoU signed for the development of EV charging and battery-swapping infrastructure in Gram Panchayats, in New Delhi on Saturday.

The Government of India is set to enable Gram Panchayats across the country to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and battery-swapping facilities on land owned by them, in a move aimed at promoting clean mobility in rural areas and creating an additional source of revenue for local bodies.

The initiative is also expected to contribute to climate action by reducing carbon emissions and accelerating India’s transition to cleaner mobility.

Towards this end, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power, have joined hands to explore the development of EV charging stations and battery-swapping facilities across the country.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was exchanged in New Delhi on Saturday between Mukta Shekhar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and Akhilesh Kumar Dixit, CEO of CESL.

The partnership is aimed at extending India’s electric mobility ecosystem beyond metropolitan cities and urban centres to rural areas. It proposes to leverage Panchayat-owned land, including sites along State and National Highways and premises near Gram Panchayat offices, to establish a geographically widespread network of clean mobility infrastructure.

According to an official release, the proposed facilities will cater to a wide range of electric vehicles, including two-, three- and four-wheelers as well as medium and heavy-duty vehicles, thereby strengthening the ecosystem for large-scale EV adoption in rural and semi-urban areas.

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