Maharashtra govt to procure 1,000 electric vehicles in next one year

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government will be getting 1000 electric vehicles to be used by the government in the next one year, said power minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. He was speaking on Tuesday in an event where the first five electric vehicles were handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD) by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).
Officials said that these vehicles cost around Rs 15 lakh, and need 9 hours to be fully charged after that it can cover 120km.
Two charging stations have been set up while two more are being set up.
On May 3, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between EESL and the state government for setting up electric vehicle chargers in state government offices.
"The state government already has the policy to promote e-vehicles in the state. We are all working towards the promises made at the e-mobility summit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said an official.
As part of the central government policy, the government has first begun creating a favourable ecosystem in nine polluted cities with a population of over four million, and gradually move to cities with populations of one million-plus. Also, busy corridors such as Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Chandigarh are being identified. "We are starting using these vehicles on a pilot basis. We plan to introduce such buses for mass public transport as well eventually," said an official.