BHUBANESWAR: IN a bid to promote eco-friendly and non-motorised public transport modes in the city, Bhubaneswar Development Authority and Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) have initiated the process for formulation of a detailed Bhubaneswar E-vehicle Policy with support of International Finance Corporation (IFC), a wing of the World Bank Group.
At a high-level meeting attended by officials of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL), Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and representatives of IFC on Tuesday, the experts and consultants Deloitte and C-Step presented initial findings, opportunities and possible options which may be included in the policy document.
The expert consultants have been mandated to come up with detailed Bhubaneswar E-vehicle Policy document and roll out plan. While presenting the initial findings of the market assessment study conducted in the last two months, the experts elaborated on benefits of reduced operational cost in e-vehicles vis-a-vis diesel operated vehicles.
“While the average cost per km in diesel operated vehicles (auto-rickshaws) come around `2, the same for e-vehicles (e-rickshaw) comes 20 paisa. There are incentives and schemes provided by both the Central and State Governments for e-vehicles,” a RTO official said.
The State Government has reduced one-time registration charge for e-vehicles to three per cent in comparison to the existing six per cent for diesel operated autorickshaws. The Central Government, under National Electric Mission offers subsidy and incentives through special schemes for e-vehicles, the official added.
The consultants will also come up with a pilot implementation plan in this regard in Bhubaneswar Town Centre District area