Good news for those who have planned to buy EV two and four wheelers, as the state government has waived the road tax and registration fees for one year for all green vehicles.
A notification in this regard will be issued by the state transport department soon. The exemption will be effective from 1 April 2024 to 31 March, 2025. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday. The step has been taken to encourage people to buy more electric vehicles and two wheelers.
The state government has taken special measures to set up more charging stations across the state. Because of inadequate charging stations across the country, the sale of EV two and four wheelers has not picked up. On the highways, the number of charging stations is almost negligible.
The state transport department has proposed to introduce 10,000 e-buses in the next one decade. Some ministers, the state chief secretary and some additional chief secretaries are given e-vehicles, which are rarely used.
It was in New Town where Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) first introduced electric buses, four years ago, when Debashis Sen was the chairman. The buses cover the entire New Town. Charging centres have also come up in New Town. The HIDCO has made it mandatory to have charging arrangements on the parking lot in new housing complexes that would come up in the area.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will sign MoUs with private players to instal charging stations across the city. The transport department will organize interactive sessions with people to answer frequently asked questions regarding e-vehicles, particularly on the issue of longevity of batteries.