Guwahati has received its first electronic car charging station, making it the first in the Northeast Region to do so. The station will assist in charging electric automobiles, making Guwahati a greener city. The station is located on Lokhra HP Station.
Inauguration of the station
Sri Rameshwar Teli, Hon’ble Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, inaugurated the Northeast region’s electric vehicle charging station. This program will make a substantial contribution to a green Northeast.
A step towards greener Northeast
By eliminating the usage of gasoline or diesel-powered vehicles, the future offers the potential to shift to electric mobility and make society pollution-free.
Good news for Meghalaya
Meghalaya will soon have its EV charging network. According to ANI, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited has laid the foundation stone for the state’s first Electric Vehicle Charging Station (EVCS) at its Lapalang, Shillong office complex.
NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar announced that 11 EV charging stations would be constructed in Shillong. He went on to say that these stations would be built as part of the Center’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (FAME II) program.
Kumar said in a tweet, “As India makes the ready transition towards #EVs, #Meghalaya under the initiative of CM @SangmaConrad, is all set to get its first EV charging station. A total of 11 EVCS in Shillong (5 public EVCS & 6 at Govt. establishments) will be developed as directed by the #FAME II scheme.”
The POWERGRID Office Complex in Lapalang, MTC Ware House in Demthring, the MTC Parking Lot in Police Bazar, and Polo Parking Lot all have Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed on their behalf, according to the release.
POWERGRID has established itself as a market leader in the EVCS industry, with offices in major Indian cities such as Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurugram, and Kochi.
Further plans of the Assam Government
According to a state government official, the Assam government intends to convert all existing public transportation and government vehicles to the electric mode by 2030 as part of a new policy.
“It’s a bold decision taken by the government with an eye on improving air quality by reducing emission from vehicles. It’s just the beginning, but we are getting a good response to the policy,” principal secretary (industries and commerce) KK Dwivedi said.
Purchasing 200 electric buses and 100 CNG (compressed natural gas) operated buses for Guwahati has been approved by the state cabinet as the policy’s initial implementation step.
The EVs that will be introduced in five years, according to Dwivedi, will include 100,000 two-wheelers, 75,000 three-wheelers, and 25,000 four-wheelers.
“To encourage people to buy EVs, the state government will give a subsidy of ₹20,000 on two-wheelers, ₹50,000 for three-wheelers, and ₹1.5 lakh for four-wheelers. There will be 100% exemption of registration fees, road tax, and parking fees for EVs,” he said.
The plan also calls for installing EV charging stations across the state. For the first five years, entrepreneurs who set up the stations will get a 90% discount on their electricity bills.
“As per Centre’s policy, by 2030, all vehicles older than 15 years found unfit would have to be scrapped. To implement that, we have signed agreements with two firms, one from Kolkata and another from Guwahati,” Dwivedi said.
“These scrapping facilities for old and unfit vehicles will be set up near Guwahati and both companies will invest ₹20 crores for them,” he added.
The new policy will provide subsidies for the establishment of factories, discounts on electricity bills, income tax rebates, and so on for EV manufacturing companies interested in establishing an assembly line in Assam.
“This is just the beginning. We will be constantly monitoring and will make course corrections in policy as and when required. We are open to suggestions on improving it further,” said Dwivedi.
There are currently over 4 million vehicles on the road in Assam. According to the new plan, by 2026, 25% of newly registered vehicles will be electric vehicles.
