Govt, municipal bodies to only buy, rent electric vehicles: Aaditya Thackeray

Maharashtra environment minister Aaditya Thackeray last year announced the state’s Electric Vehicle Policy- 2021 to incentivise and promote the use of electric vehicles in the state.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government will only buy or rent electric vehicles (EV) for use of the state government or urban local bodies with immediate effect, state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Sunday, announcing the government decision to advance the April 1 date that it set for itself earlier.

Maharashtra environment and tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray said the state government and urban local bodies will only buy or rent electric vehicles (EV) with effect from January 1. (Satish Bate/HT File Photo)

“Keeping our commitment to clean mobility and encouraging citizens, the Govt of Maharashtra has decided to implement the decision of purchasing or renting only electric vehicles for Govt/ Urban Local Bodies/ Corporations from 1st January 2022 instead of 1st April 2022,” Aaditya Thackeray tweeted.

Aaditya Thackeray has pitched electric vehicles as one of the means to fight air pollution and came up with the state’s Electric Vehicle Policy- 2021 to incentivise and promote the use of the non-polluting vehicles.

The policy seeks to achieve a 25% share of electric vehicles in public transportation in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik, and targets converting 15% Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s (MSRTC) fleet of buses into electric vehicles by 2025.

Aaditya thanked chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat for supporting the climate action policies of the department of environment and climate change and ensuring that the government departments opt for green options.