Assam's 1st Electric Vehicle Charging Station Inaugurated in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: Electronic vehicles are considered to be more sustainable than oil-driven cars. With an aim to reduce pollution in Guwahati and promote eco-friendly means of travel, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameshwar Teli inaugurated the Northeast region's first electric vehicle charging station in Guwahati on Wednesday. The utility is located at a Lokhra petrol pump.

It takes approximately an hour for an electronic vehicle to be fully charged and run for about 300 to 400 kilometres. 

Under the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme, the Assam State Transport Cooperation(ASTC) has introduced electronic buses in Guwahati alongside few charging points. 

ASTC has also introduced 25 electric buses in the first phase and five full AC electric buses in the second phase. It requires two and a half hours of charging time which runs on a 120 KW battery. The buses can ride upto 120 kilometres. ASTC has installed charging stations in ISBT, Betkuchi and ASTC Complex, Platanbazar. These buses run to and fro from Kamakhya temple to Paltanbazar.

The state government has also unveiled an electric vehicle (EV) policy. According to the policy, it will convert all vehicles of government, public buses and the government would deploy 2 EVs within the next five years. The Industries, Commerce and Public Enterprises Department said the Electric Vehicle Policy, 2021, offers a set of incentives for people to switch to EVs.

The government has also given 100% relaxation on registration charges and road tax and on parking charges. Buyers of two-wheeler, three-wheeler and four-wheeler EVs will be entitled to a subsidy of ₹20,000, ₹50,000 and ₹1.5 lakh respectively while entrepreneurs setting up EV charging stations have been assured 90% exemption of electricity duty. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the government is planning to deploy 200 electric vehicles and 100 CNG buses in Guwahati by April 1, 2022.