Maharashtra, which was one of the first states in the country to design and notify an Electric Vehicles policy, has now decided to put the policy on hold for a year.
As said in the policy draft: “Starting April 2022, all new govt. vehicles (owned/leased) operating within the major cities to be electric.”
Various government departments objected to the proposal, citing lack of suitable charging stations for these vehicles across the state and raising concerns about how the EVs would perform in isolated areas, where road networks are inadequate.
Considering these issues, the state’s Environment Department has issued a government resolution, declaring that government agencies might now defer the purchase of these EVs until April 2023.
Previously, the Environment Department had made EV purchase mandatory for Mantralaya departments, the state Pollution Control Board, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, all local self-governments, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state Information and Public Relations Department, Transport Department, Maharashtra Maritime Board, High Court, account offices and others.
It was reported that according to a Mantralaya-based driver, while a few EVs were purchased last year, there are too many limitations to charge such vehicles. The driver also noted that it will take some time to adjust to a new system and there is a need for charging stations in government officers’ homes, so that charging can be done efficiently.
People are concerned about the lack of charging infrastructure in the country, which is also a reason why despite the hype, only a small percentage of people are buying EVs.
It is worth noting that according to a Grant Thornton Bharat-FICCI poll, the country would require 4,00,000 charging stations by 2026 to meet the demand for two million EVs on the road.
MAHARASHTRA’S EV POLICY
When Maharashtra introduced the new EV policy, it said: “The updated Maharashtra EV Policy aims to capitalise on the recent policy and technology developments and further the state’s EV ambition.”
“The policy suggests strong demand- and supply-side measures to increase the BEV penetration in the state. The policy plans to aggressively target state’s five Urban Agglomerations (UAs)2 (with a high share of PM2.5 emissions) to become lighthouse regions in EV adoption,” it added.
The policy was released with the aim that the state will accelerate the adoption of EVs in a way that these contribute to 10% of all new vehicles by 2025.
According to the policy, other important policy objectives include:
• In the five targeted urban agglomerations in the state, achieve 25% electrification of public transport and last-mile delivery vehicles by 2025.
• Convert 15% of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s (MSRTC) existing bus fleet4 to electric.
• Make Maharashtra the country’s top producer of BEVs in India, in terms of annual production capacity.
• Target establishment of at least one Gigafactory for the manufacturing of advanced chemistry cell (ACC) batteries in the state.
• Promote research and development (R&D), innovation, and skill development across the EV ecosystem in the state.
Additionally, the policy also called for installation of charging stations in major urban agglomerations of Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Amravati, and Solapur, as well as on four major highways – Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Nagpur and Pune-Nashik.
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