New Delhi

Barely a few metres from the newly constructed Parliament building — right outside the ministry of power on Rafi Marg — a series of six EV charging stations are lying unused, as EV charging guns on the modules are missing due to theft and thick copper cables chopped off by those looking to make a quick buck. “India’s first public EV charging station plaza”, as an inauguration plaque dated July 20, 2022, reads, is currently acting as a parking space with charging modules covered in dust and signage warning people “you are under CCTV surveillance”.

But the EV charging station at Rafi Marg is not the only such public installation to have met such a fate. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has installed around 100 EV charging stations, but charging guns of more than a third of these have been stolen. During a spot check, HT found a major EV charging station near Kali Mandir completely run over by vandals. The three charging stations are missing key components and the shed now serves as a shelter for the homeless, with personal goods and bags hanging from the charging ports.

Vandalism, theft and dysfunctional public street infrastructure are hampering the high-security zone of Lutyens’ Delhi, and similar maintenance problems plague other installations, such as escalators in public spaces, even in heavy-footfall areas like Connaught Place, and water ATMs running dry during the ongoing intense heatwave.

NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay bemoaned the “absence of civic sense and public responsibility”, saying the NDMC faced theft and vandalism in escalators, charging stations, nozzles of fountains and flower pots installed ahead of the G-20 Summit. Thefts extended to garbage bins and other street furniture too, he said.

“In some cases, market associations and RWAs should come forward and take the responsibility of public street infrastructure. It is easy to complain, but it is a societal problem. We cannot depute security guards at every single such site,” Upadhyay said.

EV charging stations

NDMC has over 100 EV charging stations and the civic body plans to expand the number of such installations to 350. However, maintenance and security pose key problems.

During a spot check, HT found dysfunctional EV charging stations at Rafi Marg outside the power ministry, outside the Chelmsford Club, near Kali Mandir, Gole Market and Jain Bhavan. Each site had similar patterns, of missing parts, stolen charging guns and damaged goods.

Shankar Singh, who resides near the Kali Mandir station, said that the station was never made fully functional. “They should have placed a guard in 2022. All the charging points have seen thefts,” he said.

A few hundred metres away, another charging station near Jain Bhavan was in a similar state of dysfunction. Radhe Shyam, 42, who works in the Gole Market, said that the station was vandalised over seven months ago. “Copper wires are sold in scrap. The charging site has been encroached for parking space,” he said.

To be sure, copper wire theft is not limited to Delhi or Indian cities, with widespread reports of thefts reported in the US, where there is more widespread use of electric vehicles.

The NDMC, on its part, has filed complaints of missing charging guns in over 30 such sites.

Gopal Krishan, who heads the New Delhi RWA federation, said that RWAs can’t be responsible for protecting public assets. “NDMC has its own security agencies and Delhi Police has frequent patrolling in entire Lutyens Delhi. They should ensure the safety of these charging stations and other assets. If RWAs are asked to take care of these assets, RWAs must also be empowered,” he said.

Krishan said that copper is sold at ₹600 per kilogram. “People steal and sell these wires in scrap. They may get ₹400, but the damage caused to infrastructure is much more expensive,” he said.

Connaught Place escalators

The problem of thefts and lack of maintenance is not uncommon even in the heart of the city at Connaught Place. There are several pedestrian subways around the outer circle of Connaught Place and all of the subways of Connaught Place were completely revamped under the Smart City mission in 2017-18. However, most of the 22 escalators connecting places such as Super Bazar, Shankar Market, Statesman House, KG Marg, Barakhamba and Janpath were found non-functional.

In March, NDMC said that 11 of the 22 escalators were repaired, with the remaining units expected to be operationalised in two to three weeks. But during a spot check on June 17, HT found several parts of escalators missing in the sections near Shankar Market, Barakhamba Road and KG Marg.

Chirag Srivastava, 35, a tourist visiting Delhi from Bengaluru, said that he was surprised at the lack of maintenance in the central commercial hub of the Capital. “So many foreign tourists visit Connaught Place but there is lack of cleanliness, non-functional escalators and even stench due to urination. It was a real disappointment,” Srivastava said.

An NDMC official said that more than 70 police complaints have been filed regarding theft of escalator parts. The council installed steel gates at multiple sites to increase security, but the escalators are outside this gated zone, leaving them prone to thefts and vandalism.

The spokesperson for Delhi Police did not respond to requests for comment.

New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) secretary Vikram Badhwar said that 99% of the escalators in the area are non-functional and complaints have no effect. “Public money is being wasted. It also affects the market image when the maintenance is zero. We start with very high standards while implementing these schemes, but there is no long-term scheme to maintain them.”

Badhwar said that traders at Connaught Place pay one of the highest property taxes, but get little in return. “These escalators and subways were revamped around the 2010 Commonwealth Games. They keep getting vandalised and mostly remain non-operational.”

Water ATMs non-functional in heatwave

Amid an intense heatwave and unprecedented temperature levels in Delhi, scores of water ATMs meant to dispense cold purified drinking water for pedestrians and passersby in markets and key junctions of New Delhi are lying dysfunctional or gathering dust. NDMC installed 75 water ATMs in various parts of the Lutyens Delhi but most have fallen into disrepair, either suffering from damaged parts or becoming completely non-operational.

Ashok Randhawa, who heads the Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association, said that the NDMC installed four water ATMs in Sarojini Nagar Market three years ago, but all of them were in poor shape. “Of these four water ATMs, two units are not dispensing water at all and perhaps they are out of order,” he said.

During a spot check, HT found that the water ATMs located near Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Shankar Market, Pant Marg, Gol Dak Khana and Mandir Marg were found to be out of order. Many units were locked and others had an accumulation of leaves and debris in their dispensers.

Water ATMs face the twin problems of vandalism and a lack of a maintenance agency.

PK Datta, retired professor from JNU, with specialisation in historical and contemporary identity formations in modern India and Indian political and social thought, said: “Civic sense needs to be cultivated by the public authorities, especially in a megapolis like Delhi where there is very rapid pace of migration and urbanisation. Civic sense is not something that will fall from the heavens. For people who are not familiar with the urban street infrastructure in megapolis, civic authorities have to actively work to engage them. Simply blaming each other will not help. We will have to bring psychologists, sociologists and authorities on one platform to take the right steps in this regard.”

Upadhyay said that NDMC is making attempts to rectify the situation at multiple sites but people also need to exhibit social responsibility. “We also appeal to the public, RWAs and market associations to take collective responsibility of these assets,” he said.