By Vidhi Thacker
As informed by Commerce and Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhusan on Thursday, the Odisha government has decided to set up 100 EV charging stations in the first phase. 21 charging stations will be set up in Bhubaneswar, 38 in different RTOs, 23 in truck terminals and 18 in various places in the state placed strategically. The groundwork for the setting up of the charging stations has already begun, which marks the state’s transition to a mode of sustainable transport.
The state government has chosen a private firm through a competitive tendering process for the installation of the charging stations, said Jena, replying to a question by legislator Tankadar Tripathy.
This move is in line with the 2021 Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy, which aims to encourage the adoption of battery electric vehicles, particularly in two, three and light motor vehicle categories. The objective of this policy is It also targets to make 20% of all vehicle registrations electric by the end of 2025. This policy encourages this transition by offering subsidies to EV owners like subsidised parking. One of the policy initiatives is also to prepare the city parking plans to encourage on-street parking of electric vehicles.
As of now, a total of 157,081 Electric vehicles have been registered in Odisha. Out of this, 132,692 are battery-operated vehicles, 23,563 are pure EVs, and 826 are strong hybrid EVs.