BHUBANESWAR: All government employees coming to the state secretariat in vehicles will have to use electric vehicles (EVs) or else they may not get the requisite passes to enter, said deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo on Saturday.
He said the state government has taken a policy decision to phase-out petrol or diesel vehicles following a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a just energy transition.
“All government employees who come to the secretariat should opt for EVs. Otherwise, passes will not be issued to them to enter the secretariat. Some kind of initiatives will be taken to make people come forward to replace their old petrol-diesel vehicles. This will be the first step that the government is trying to implement,” he told mediapersons.
Singh Deo, who is also the Energy minister, said Odisha has started moving fast for smarter adoption of renewable and green energy. “All government offices are being converted to solar power. We are also in the process of putting in place ACs and other equipment run by renewable energy,” he said.
The state government is also contemplating to formulate a new EV policy with a focus on infrastructure and incentives to both sellers and buyers for promoting the electric vehicles.
The Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy-2021 that provisioned the incentives for two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler owners is applicable for the policy period up to 2025. As per the policy, two-wheeler owners will get subsidy up to Rs 20,000 and three-wheelers will get a flat Rs 30,000 subsidy. Four-wheeler owners will get the subsidy up to Rs 1.5 lakh. Although the state government had targeted 20 per cent adoption of EVs out of its total registered vehicles of 26.22 lakh, including 21.45 lakh two-wheelers, 1.84 lakh light motor vehicles and 80,480 three-wheelers, the response has been lukewarm due to various factors. So far, around 1.35 lakh EVs including two-wheelers, have been registered in the state. Officials said lack of a robust and widely available charging network has affected sale of EVs and dampened the confidence of consumers.
“The new policy will focus on EV infrastructure and other aspects that will help promote faster adoption of EVs in the state,” said an official.
The deputy chief minister also announced that solar panels would be installed on the roofs of all government buildings and quarters. Both the Centre and state government will provide incentives for the initiative, which will help promote green energy, he added.