By Sidhima Choudhary
Maharashtra Government approved the installation of eight new Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway to promote green mobility. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will be soon initiating the site surveys identifying the suitable locations for the stations to be set up.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ Vahan Portal, Maharashtra has one of the largest EV markets with over 5.58 lakh EVs registered in the state. The expressway itself witnesses around 1.4 lakh vehicles per day, showcasing a significant rise in the influx of EVs.
Apart from the eight new charging stations, the stations will have space and equipment to charge multiple vehicles at the same time, states the release issued by the MSRDC.
The Pune-Mumbai Expressway extends up to a 94.5 km corridor with just five charging stations along the way. The EV users expressed the need for more stations calling it inadequate, taking the subsequent increase of EV registrations in account.
The state government has also released an exemption from the toll taxes for the EVs on intercity corridors of Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Atal Setu and Samruddhi Mahamarg. This move is done to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in the state whereas to promote clean transport and create carbon-neutral highways.
“A survey for the new stations locations is in progress along with a survey to monitor EV traffic along the expressway, estimating the demand in future years,” said a senior MSRDC official. Other future plans of public-private partnerships and mobilising renewable energy sources to make the system sustainable were also proposed.
Although, amidst the bright development plans, the already existing stations on the expressway are already facing problems. According to the passengers the charging stations are not functional and hence require proper maintenance, to ensure a sustainable green mobility in the state.