NEW DELHI: Public transport in the city could be operated by electricity in the future as the Delhi government on Friday said that it envisions to make all vehicles in the capital switch over to the electric mode in the next 20 years.
Speaking at a conclave, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that the Delhi government was working along with the Centre to attain the objective of electric mobility. The capital will soon going to launch a bus terminal that will run 100 per cent on an electric mode.
“We will address all administrative issues. Technical issues are beyond us and we need to partner with the industry for that. We have to work together on this,” Mr Sisodia said.
To address the issues over poor air quality and to bring down dependence on crude oil imports, the government has been working towards framing policies ito support utilisation of electric vehicles in the country.
The Niti Aayog has outlined a vision to shift 100 per cent commercial vehicles used for intra-city transport and 40 per cent of personal vehicles to an all-electric mode by 2030.
The Delhi government had earlier said that it was likely to incentivise use of electric vehicles.
Transport minister Kailash Gahlot had said that an incentive-based policy was likely to be formulated that would encourage commuters to shift from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to electric. Mr Gahlot requested the central government for enhancement of subsidy so that the state government can procure more electric buses.
“Cost of electric buses at '2.75 crore is unsustainable. I request the Centre for more subsidy along with financial and technical help,” I think we should look towards subsidy on power to be consumed by electric vehicles,” Mr Gahlot said.
He added it was imperative to curt down cost of electric vehicles to make them affordable and viable for public transport. Besides subsidy, Mr Gahlot sought clarity from the Centre on Faster Adoption and anufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (Fame) scheme.
