The zero emission electric bus has been introduced on the Panjim-Vasco route. The bus looks elegant and is very spacious and produces no air pollution. It is understood that more such electric buses will be introduced on other routes in the state. But the question that arises is whether, introducing such luxury buses which could prove very costly, has there been any significant positive impact on the overall quality of air.

It is pertinent to note that the government at the Centre has dropped the idea of an ‘electric vehicle’ (EV) policy. This comes in sharp contrast with the government’s earlier strategy to introduce zero emission pure electric mobility across the country by 2030. It is observed that several private buses, tempos, trucks, trailers and other heavy vehicles belch out huge amount of thick black smoke which leads to environmental pollution.

Many a time it is the small cars and two-wheelers, which produce insignificant amount of pollution, that are checked for ‘Pollution Under Control’ (PUC) certificate. Whereas the heavy vehicles which discharge large amount of obnoxious gas into the atmosphere seem to go scot-free, the authorities concerned need to crackdown on polluting vehicles lest Goa too goes the way of Delhi.

Introducing a few state-of-the-art, electric buses with zero emission may not have the desired impact in controlling air pollution.