Shillong: Meghalaya has decided to go green with the Meghalaya Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, 2021 which would come into effect from April 1.
“Various steps have been taken to ensure that EV gets priority over vehicles run on fossil fuel or Internal Combustion Engine vehicles. This has been done to encourage the use of EVs to protect the environment and steadily cut reliance on fuel imports,” the policy notified.
Under the policy, the government has identified the tourism sector for the use of these EVs in the first phase. The policy noted that in some of the tourist spots these vehicles would be used exclusively.
“The government through the tourism department shall endeavour to identify certain tourist spots where tourists shall avail transport service in an environmentally-friendly manner by the exclusive use of EVs,” the policy noted.
The policy also stated that the details of the tourist spots and installing charging stations near these tourist spots would be worked out by the tourism department along with other stakeholders.
Apart from the tourist destinations, the EVs would also be used at Industrial Estates, Export promotion Parks and Technology Parks.
The government would take steps to set up charging stations in these areas.
Meghalaya bagged the highest allocation in the northeast for setting up charging stations under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME) scheme.
Under the scheme, the State has sanctioned 40 charging stations for EVs, out of the 2,636 charging stations sanctioned for 62 cities across the country.
Taking advantage of this sanction, the policy noted that the availability of the charging stations is “key for adoption of EVs.” “The government would encourage both slow and fast charging networks in government buildings and other public places,” the policy said.
In this regard, the government would also take steps to identify land and also encourage private investments so that in key locations these charging stations could be set up.
Some of the locations identified to set the charging stations are Meghalaya transport Corporation depots, Inter-state bus terminals, Deputy Commissioners’ office, Secretariat, State Central Library, Urban Affairs department, parking lots, Government facilities and commercial buildings such as hotels, shopping malls, cinema halls and apartments.
The State would endeavour to provide attractive electricity tariffs including fixed demand charges for EV charging stations. Moreover, the government would provide land free of cost for five years to government agencies, PSUs, or private entities on Public-Private Partnership to set up EV charging stations.
Under the policy several other benefits have been underlined such as priority registration of EVs over ICEs at the Regional Transport Offices, setting up parking lots for EVs and waiver of road tax and registration fees purchased during the policy period.
