Industries should take the lead the world in the manufacture of Electric Vehicles – Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray.
Pune: The world needs green energy today and to prevent pollution and to combat climate change through it, industries in the region should take the lead not only in the country but also in the world in the production of eco-friendly items like electric vehicles, batteries, hydrogen cells etc. Environment and Climate Change Minister Aditya Thackeray.
Mr Thackeray was speaking at the concluding function of the ‘Pune City Electric Vehicle Accelerator’ workshop jointly organized by Pune Municipal Corporation and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) as well as RMI India. Ashish Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Transport, Vikram Kumar, Commissioner, Pune Municipal Corporation, Sanjay Kolte, Chief Executive Officer, Pune Smart City, Akshima Ghate, Senior Professor, RMI India were present on the occasion.
Minister Thackeray said that climate change is a challenge facing the whole world. In the last 11 months, the west coast of the country has been hit by three major cyclones. So we want to save the environment by adapting to climate change efficiently. For this, we want to use natural energy alternatives and reduce carbon emissions in the transport sector. Despite the challenges, there is a lot of opportunities to be taken advantage of. The Government of Maharashtra has formulated an excellent Electric Vehicle Policy (EV Policy) to promote this sector.
The state government is encouraging the manufacture of electric vehicles and infrastructure. State Government’s E.V. The policy is one of the best and most attractive policies in the country, said Amitabh Kant, Chairman of the Policy Commission. It is the policy of the government to support industries and institutions in the field of electric vehicle manufacturing, charging station construction. For that, we are focused on listening to them and making necessary changes in the policy. For this, workshops and seminars are being organized every month in this regard. He assured that the demands of the industries in the region would be met positively.
Ashish Kumar Singh said that EV charging stations are being encouraged in cities. Places should be fixed for setting up of public charging station of Pune Municipal Corporation. More efforts should be made to pass on the benefits of subsidy given by the Central Government to the electric vehicle manufacturing industry under the ‘Fame’ policy. A grievance redressal dashboard will be set up to address the problems of industries in the region, he added.
Vikram Kumar said Pune is the city with the highest number of two-wheelers. In order to reduce pollution in the city of Pune, the Pune Metropolitan Transport Project, which has a public transport system, is to be strengthened. For this, the number of electric buses will be increased from the current 150 to 650 by next March. Out of this, electric vehicles will also be leased to private companies. The corporation has set up a special EV cell to boost the EV industry. He also said that it has been decided to give tax relief to the housing societies which are setting up charging stations.
The event was attended by representatives of companies in the fields of electric vehicles, battery manufacturing, charging stations. He presented the problems facing the area to the audience.
During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ARAI and Pune Municipal Corporation. Accordingly, 10 EV chargers will be provided free of cost by ARAI to Pune Municipal Corporation.
