MUMBAI: The Government of Maharashtra will only buy or rent electric vehicles (EVs) for the state government and municipal bodies, effective immediately, said Aaditya Thackrey, Minister of Environment, Government of Maharashtra. On Sunday, January 2, Thackrey announced that the government has decided to advance the deadline of April 1, set out earlier for the adoption of EVs.
Thackrey pitched EVs as the efficient means to fight air pollution in the state as well as keep up with the state’s Electric Vehicles Policy – 2021. The EV policy aims to achieve 25 per cent of total public transport to be constituted of EVs, in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik, by 2025. The policy also seeks to convert 15 per cent of the fleet of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation buses into EVs by 2025.
Thackrey thanked the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackrey, deputy CM Ajit Powar and Balasaheb Thorat, Minister of Revenue, Government of Maharashtra, for supporting the climate action initiatives of the state environment ministry.