DEVELOPING CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENT MAHARASHTRA WITH EV POLICY 2021
As we unveiled the electric vehicle policy of the State last month, I had only one thing on my mind, climate change and its ever-increasing impact we are seeing around the world.
We were speaking about supply side incentives and demand side incentives, bringing out to the world the lucrative offers and incentives it holds for battery manufacturers, EV manufactures and for those who would buy and use an electric vehicle. This is probably the most comprehensively researched and all-encompassing policy for electric vehicles in the country put together after consultations with all stake holders in the sector. While it is true that the incentives are highly lucrative and nudge us to go for an EV, in my mind the question still looms large- “do we need incentives to survive on the planet?”
Most of Western Europe has faced a heat wave earlier this summer and now is facing flash floods that have killed hundreds. Germany and Belgium are under a deluge, while parts of London faced a thunderstorm on its hottest day of the year, more so, received over a month’s rainfall in a day. China too, has faced massive floods, while on the other hand, the USA is facing forest fires and Russia’s permafrost is melting.
While I prefer not to paint a doomsday scenario, as we work each day in the Department of Environment and Climate Change on building hope for our planet, the fact is that climate change is here- unseasonal rainfall, hailstorm, advancing of seasons and the extremity of all kinds of weather without a pattern. Observing this change in our climate closely and seeing the hurdles
it puts up for governance daily, right from compensation for crop damage to flash floods due to more than 200 mm of rain per hour is what put me on the track of being the environmentalist in politics.
My first introduction to EVs was about 7 years ago, while on a visit to a country in the West, I came across doubledecker buses that ran absolutely without a sound. Much to my joy, I also learnt that these sound free, smooth running giants were emission free as well.
As soon as I got back, I requested the then chairman of the Standing Committee to work on a proposal for the city’s public buses run by the BEST to be electric. With our country’s exposure to the electric vehicle world being minimal then, it took us a few months to formulate the policy, float the tenders and in 2016 we could float the tenders, initiating a steady stream of an electric best bus fleet that is completely emission free and noise free.
However, we cannot stop at the first few buses.
Yes, electrification of our public transport fleet must be our first focus and that is what I believe at the core of the policy. However, it is time now that we build our mindset to adopt electric vehicles in our lives at a rapid pace, on a larger scale. Therefore, the policy also has focused its incentive mechanism on two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers, charging station infrastructure, battery size of the vehicle, a scrappage policy for older vehicles and of course, incentives for automotive manufacturers wanting to manufacture EVs in Maharashtra.
In the past few decades, Maharashtra has been a leader in the automotive manufacturing industry. Along with the manufacturing, come ancillary parts, research and development and supply chains. With also one of the most highly urbanized state in the country, Maharashtra also stands to have the largest potential customer base in the country for EV and the awareness for climate change. The real impact of the electric vehicles would be only seen on the global and local scenario, not just when we have more vehicles with green number plates but when these vehicles are drawing charge from an ecosystem that is green. The Government of Maharashtra also has enacted a policy for renewable energy adoption in the State, right from roof top solar to farm fields or barren land. We are working on solarizing our highways and on having floating solar panels on our lakes that would help us generate solar energy, at the same time help reduce evaporation. We are fully cognizant of the fact that only adoption of EVs is not enough to put up, not a fight, but an effort of sustainable coexistence of the human race on the planet.
The Environment and Climate Change Department is working on multiple aspects with all the departments of the government for climate change mitigation and action. Along with the Department of Forest, we have been able to identify and safeguard 9800 ha of mangroves under the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Likewise, 812 acres of Aarey was declared a Reserve Forest in the urban sprawl of Mumbai.
The Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyaan that focuses on the 5 elements of nature, had all the officers of the Government of Maharashtra working on climate change mitigation measures right from rainwater percolation and harvesting to converting their office lights to ones that use lesser electricity. Our commitment to ensuring Maharashtra leading the automotive sector is firm, so is our capacity to absorb the automobiles into our markets.
While the industry grows and rapidly changes, it is our solemn duty to ensure that we build an environment for the industry to help its silent and easy evolution into the next big idea. While the industry evolves and works on the next big idea, we know Maharashtra will have the maximum consumption of EVs at a rapid rate. This policy also builds on the customers for their ease in adoption of EVs.
The most important commitment, however, is to ensure sustainable growth and development and that is where this the Electric Vehicle Policy 2021 stems from. Maharashtra has been a land for revolutions in thought and action, and we intend to lead in the movement to make this planet better for all, hoping that many more states join in.