Policies On Charging Stations, Vehicle Scrappage Soon: Nitin Gadkari
Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari have stated that a cabinet note on electric vehicles is ready that will take care of the current menace of infrastructure issues such as charging stations.
He said it is important for the country to move forward on the alternative fuel route in order to both reduce pollution and reduce dependence on imports. He also maintained that a similar policy on vehicle scrappage, which was stuck due to goods and services tax (GST) related anomalies, will be rolled out soon to replace polluting vehicles which are plying on the roads.
Interacting with reporters on sidelines of Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers (SIAM) annual convention, Gadkari stated, “To create an infrastructure for charging stations is very important. The government is going to plan a policy on that. The most important and remarkable thing is that the cost of Lithium ion batteries is reduced by 35-40 per cent. With more production, the prices will drop further. We are in the process of (preparing) a cabinet note where we are going to set up charging stations. In my own city in Nagpur we have set up 20 charging stations and 200 electric vehicles. Within 3 months, we can go up to 1,000 vehicles. We are working on electric buses.”
Talking about vehicle scrappage policy, he maintained, “The GST Council is formed. We are preparing the note. I am going to the finance minister and after that, we will move this cabinet note. In the GST Council, we will present the note and take opinion of stakeholders. There are some concessions we are expecting from state governments."
When asked about some of the other forward looking policies that the government is currently working on he revealed, “We are working on double decker electric or biofuel buses from one metro city to another one like Mumbai to Pune, Delhi to Ludhiana, Delhi to Jalandhar/Chandigarh. The way in which the automobile industry is growing we have to add one lane to National Highway which is worth 80,000 crore which is not practically possible. The most important thing is that we want to encourage public transport. I think the industry will cooperate with us in this mission.”
