Aiming to achieve the goal of ‘Green and Clean Himachal,’ Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed all government departments not to buy diesel or petrol vehicles from January 1, 2024.

This is also being done with a view to promote e-vehicles on a large scale. If necessary, the departments will have to seek approval of the state cabinet to purchase petrol or diesel vehicles.

The Chief Minister in his first budget speech took a pledge for perseverance of the green cover of the state and had announced to promote e-vehicles in the state.

With the consistent efforts of the government, the number of government e-vehicles has reached 185, while that of private electric vehicles registered in the state is 2733.

The Chief Minister who has set an example by using e-vehicle himself for the past several months, said, “Our government is promoting e-vehicles in Himachal in a big way. The Transport department becomes the first department to replace its official vehicle fleet with e-vehicles and the other departments will follow the same analogy,” said Sukhu.

All the departments will ensure replacing their fuel vehicles with e-vehicles in a phased manner, he said, adding that the use of e-vehicles is not only a new beginning, but also shows the commitment of the government towards environmental preservation.

“We have to preserve the environment for the coming generations and have to take initiatives from today itself,” said the Chief Minister.

To meet the requirement of vehicles in departments have been given permission to ply e-taxies on contract basis.

Under the Rs 680 crore Rajiv Gandhi Self-Employment start-up scheme, e-taxi permits are being provided to the youth by providing them 50 percent subsidy on the purchase of the same.

The government is developing infrastructure for charging e-vehicles and these can also be charged at home. The Transport Department has finalized 54 locations for setting up e-vehicle charging stations in the state, some of which are almost ready. To promote e-vehicles, it has been decided to develop 6 highways as green corridors.

Apart from this, all the diesel buses of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) are being converted into e-buses in a phased manner.

Recently, in a meeting the manufacturing companies of e-buses, have been requested to take into consideration the geographical conditions of Himachal while manufacturing the e-buses.

The state government soon is going to run e-buses on long routes as well. Type-1, 2 and 3 e-buses are being included in the HRTC fleet in a phased manner, so that the target of making Himachal a clean and green energy state by March 31, 2026 can be achieved, said Sukhu.