Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has announced Green Corridor in Himachal along with the launch of electric vehicles under the Green Mobility campaign from Shimla.
After flagging off the electric vehicles of the Transport Department, the Chief Minister said that with this initiative, the Transport Department has become the first government department in the country to use fully electric vehicles, which is a big step towards system change.
After the Transport Department, now the State Government will also replace conventional fuel vehicles of other departments with electric vehicles within a year. He said that this would reduce the expenditure of various departments considerably.
It is the responsibility of all of us to keep the environment of Himachal Pradesh clean. It is the effort of the Government to reduce the pollution caused by vehicles in Himachal Pradesh. The State Government is taking several effective steps towards making the state a green energy state by the year 2025.
Sukhu said that the state government is soon going to make the ‘Parwanoo-Nalagarh-Una-Hamirpur-Nadaun-Dehra’ transport line a clean and green corridor. Apart from this, e-buses will be run on most of the bus routes in Shimla city and its surrounding areas.
Most of the e-buses will also be operated in the Rampur-Shimla corridor. Shimla local depot will be made a fully electric bus depot and a new electric bus depot will be opened in Nadaun.
He said that 60 percent of electric buses would be provided to the Himachal Road Transport Corporation in two years. The Chief Minister said that the State Government would induct 300 new e-buses in the fleet of Himachal Road Transport Corporation in the next financial year to achieve this target.
For this, a lump sum amount of Rs 400 crore will be sanctioned to the Himachal Road Transport Corporation. More e-buses will be added to the fleet of Himachal Road Transport Corporation in a phased manner.
CM said that the main objective of the Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 is to ensure environmental protection by promoting the adoption of electric vehicles as a means of transport and to develop Himachal as a hub for electric transport and manufacturing of electric vehicles.
Along with this, setting up of charging infrastructure in the government and private sector across the state to meet the charging requirements of electric vehicles and providing subsidies and other incentives to entrepreneurs to set up electric vehicle manufacturing industries in the state is also included.
The Chief Minister said that to encourage the use of electric vehicles, the State Government has also given an exemption in token tax on electric vehicles. He said that the government is also committed to setting up electric charging stations at various places in the state to speed up the use of electric vehicles.
On this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that the Chief Minister has taken a historic and revolutionary initiative by providing electric vehicles to the Transport Department on the historic ridge.
He thanked the Chief Minister for providing adequate funds for the purchase of these vehicles. While this new initiative will save money, it is also a meaningful step to create a pollution-free environment, which is the result of the visionary thinking of the present government. Principal Secretary, Transport RD Nazim, and Director Transport Anupam Kashyap welcomed the dignitaries present.