Mumbai, March 26 (IANS) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Wednesday that all the buses of the State Transport (ST) Corporation will be converted to non-conventional fuel in a phased manner, as there are plans to start ST buses on electric and LNG.
He was replying to a question raised by BJP legislator Uma Khapre regarding pollution in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Hinjewadi areas. Other members Shashikant Shinde, Pravin Darekar, Anil Parab, Amit Gorkhe, and Manisha Kayande also participated in the discussion.
Stating that 5,150 electric buses will be purchased for the ST Corporation, the chief minister said that 450 of these buses have been purchased. “Also, the existing buses of the ST will be converted to LNG, for which an agreement has been signed to supply LNG. The use of EVs is being encouraged in the state. As a part of this, an EV policy has been introduced. Charging stations are being set up on a large scale in the state. Efforts are being made to ensure that at least 80 per cent of the vehicles running on the roads in the state will be EV vehicles. If the use of EV vehicles increases, it will help reduce pollution to a great extent. Also, the pollution in the Hinjewadi area from Pune is mainly caused by vehicles and for this, connectivity of Metro and buses is being started,” he added.
Fadnavis said that the efforts are being made to purchase maximum EV buses, and it is the government’s policy that the public transport system should be pollution-free. Stating that it is the government’s policy to make all government vehicles electric, the chief minister said that the interest concessions on vehicle loans given to the legislators will also be given for EVs. He pointed out that the government is planning to convert all ministers’ vehicles into EVs.
Meanwhile, transport minister Pratap Sarnaik to a question raised by BJP legislator Prasad Lad, said that action has been taken against EV bikes with altered battery wattage. This was done after it was observed that EV bikes are being run on the roads in Mumbai by changing the battery wattage.
Stating that 211 cases have been registered so far for changing the battery capacity, Sarnaik said that 889 EV bikes modified in this way have been seized. Some companies are increasing the capacity and plying EV bikes on the roads. These Chinese-made bikes are also being brought to society for internal use. He said that a policy will be implemented to make registration of all such EV bikes mandatory.
–IANS
sj/uk