PANJIM: The State government has planned to replace all taxis, rickshaws and motorcycle taxis with electric vehicles free of cost.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made this announcement at a function organised to launch a multimodal transport app of Goa Miles at Kadamba Bus Stand, Panjim on Thursday. There are 13,000 taxis and 10,000 motorcycle taxis in the State, he informed.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also announced that the government will re-launch the electric vehicle subsidy scheme next week. He said under the scheme, Rs one lakh will be given for four-wheeler, Rs 15,000 for two-wheeler and Rs 25,000 for rickshaws.
In July last year, the State government had stopped the subsidy scheme to promote electric vehicles in the State.
He stated that while more than 50 private bus operators have joined ‘Mhaji Bus Scheme,’ 600 more bus operators will join the scheme soon.
The Chief Minister also announced that the government has set a target of making the State carbon emission-free by 2030 and Panjim as a solar city by August 15, 2024. Earlier, Sawant said he had asked representatives of all the oil companies to install electric vehicle charging stations at their petrol pumps.
He said the government will provide all kinds of support for the initiative. He said there was an issue of rates of charging but that had been resolved.
The Chief Minister said anyone willing to install electric vehicle charging stations can apply.
