SHIMLA, Himachal Pradesh: The Himachal Pradesh State Transport Department has completely shifted its entire fleet of official vehicles to electric ones in an effort to become a ‘Green Energy State’ by 2025.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh stated that Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to switch over to electric vehicles. The motive behind this step was to curtail the unnecessary expenditure on petroleum products and also to preserve the pristine environment of the state.
The Chief Minister mentioned, “We will completely transform the existing diesel buses with e-buses in a phased manner. The local bus depot of Shimla will soon have a full fleet of e-buses. An electric bus depot will also be opened in Nadaun as well and the e-buses will soon run on all the local routes in Shimla.”
He also mentioned that 300 e-buses will be added to the fleet of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) for which an outlay of ₹400 crore has been sanctioned.
He added, “In the coming two years, a target of 60 per cent e-buses will be added to the fleet of HRTC. We are working in the direction to make Himachal as India’s first ‘Green Energy State’ by 2025. The HRTC was in a loss since the last few years. Switching over to electric vehicles will be a step forward to minimize the cost of transportation and will be affordable to all.”