Mumbai, March 16 (IANS) Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik told the Legislative Council on Monday that Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will convert its entire fleet of 22,000 buses to electric vehicles by 2037.
He said that with this move, Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to pledge to completely convert its government bus network to electric vehicles. Sarnaik said that out of 22 thousand buses, about 800 buses are electric. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have a vision that India should completely switch to electric mobility (electricity-based transportation) by 2047.
Under this campaign, Maharashtra has decided to advance its target to ensure that the entire MSRTC fleet becomes completely electric by 2037. He further said that although initially the plan was to purchase 5 thousand diesel buses every year for the next five years, now this strategy has been completely changed.
He said that apart from the 8 thousand diesel buses on which work is currently going on, all the buses that will be included in the fleet in future will be electric only. He also said that a plan has also been prepared to convert diesel buses into EVs. Sarnaik further said that a proposal has been prepared to use solar energy to recharge the charging stations, which will save electricity and also benefit the environment. The government has proposed to use solar energy to run charging stations, which will reduce dependence on the conventional power grid.
The minister said that under the state’s ‘EV Policy 2026’, many types of economic benefits are being given on purchasing EV, which include tax exemption and toll concessions. Currently, EVs are being completely exempted from toll on major routes like Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Nagpur-Mumbai Samriddhi Mahamarg and Atal Setu (MTHL). He further said that the state government is developing charging stations every 25 kilometers on the highways, providing economic benefits, and is also promoting courses related to the development of charging technology.
Delhi currently has the largest fleet of electric buses in India, comprising over 4,200 EVs. Under its EV policy, the Delhi government aims to expand its fleet of electric buses to 7,500 by the end of 2026 and to 14,000 by 2028.
–IANS
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