Your next ride to Ajanta and Ellora caves may happen in an EV

The Maharastra government has planned to deploy electric vehicles to transport tourists to the world heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora, informed state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray. He stated this after a visit to the sites that have been shut for a long time due to the non-availability of electricity.

The state government revised its EV policy last year with an aim to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles in the state. The policy worth ₹930 crore has a two-way approach that focuses on both demand creation among the consumers and improved supply through increased incentives to the manufacturers. The state also has plans to build a strong charging infrastructure as it aims to establish 2,375 public and semi-public charging stations across seven major cities in the state and four national highways.

The state government also has a target to convert 15% of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation's (MSRTC) existing bus fleet into electric vehicles. The policy also encourages that EVs attribute at least 10% of total vehicle registrations in the state by 2025. For electric two-wheelers, the policy offers subsidies to the first 1,00,000 EVs on a first-come-first-serve basis. These electric two-wheelers will be eligible to receive an amount of ₹5,000 per kWh incentive, with the maximum threshold being ₹10,000 instead of the previous amount of ₹5,000.

The Maharashtra government has urged the hospitality industry of the state to support its EV policy for better implementation of it. In an earlier report, Thackeray had mentioned an aggressive implementation of the EV policy is critical and cannot be fully successful without help from the private sector.

(With inputs from PTI)