Ashis Parida July 22, 2019
Automobile exhausts have become a serious issue in urban areas. In order to crackdown, the increasing air pollution the State government of Odisha is planning to run electric buses on the roads of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri. These E- buses will first cover the urban sectors of Odisha and will operate within the radius of 100Km, covering the twin city and Puri. As per Ashok Chandra Panda, Science and Technology Minister, in the first phase, these electric transports are going to keep running in the temple town of Puri alongside the city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
He also said that “We are planning to phase out the conventional transport system through the electric buses. These new electric buses will operate within 100 km radius covering Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri.” The Minister said a memorandum of understanding will be signed soon for the implementation of the proposal. Incorporation of E-busses in Public transport will be a major step in controlling the air pollution level of Odisha, he added.
To more promote the electric vehicles the deduction in the GST slab, along with the incentives on taxes on the loan paid on buying of EVs was a part of the 2019 budget which was recently presented in the Parliament. Besides this incentives are being provided to the people who use electric three and four-wheeled vehicles for commercial under Rs 10,000 crore FAME II scheme. These incentives are also available for two-wheelers user for personal use as well. However, currently, there’s no incentive applicable to the people purchasing electric PVs.
