Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, May 27
The Maharashtra government has waived road tax and registration fees for electric vehicles that are registered in the state, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at a function to launch electric taxis in Nagpur on Friday.
“After waiving Value Added Tax, road tax and registration fees for electric vehicles we will now take other steps to make Maharashtra a model state in electric transportation in the near future,” Fadnavis said at the event.
The Maharashtra government has brought together mobile app Ola, vehicle manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra, e-rickshaw manufacturer Kinetic, Tata Motors, TVS and other automobile manufacturers to supply
electric vehicles for public transportation in the state. Under the pilot project rolled off in Nagpur to coincide with the third anniversary of the Narendra Modi government, riders will be able to book taxis, e-rickshaws and buses that run on electricity using the Ola app.
According to state government sources, Mahindra and Mahindra has supplied 100 of its new e2o Plus to Ola while 100 cars have come from other manufacturers. Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Founder and CEO
of Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions, said her company had chipped in with 100 e-rickshaws for the pilot project.
Fadnavis said the Maharashtra government planned to extend electric vehicle-based urban transportation to other cities in the state.
So far 50 charging points have been installed in four strategic locations in Nagpur. More points are expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks, according to sources.