UN prog to push for e-mobility

LUCKNOW : The UN Environment Programme will assist Uttar Pradesh government in developing policies and infrastructure for electric mobility, focusing on buses, e-cars, 2 and 3-wheelers in the days to come, said UP chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey while speaking at a workshop ‘Supporting e-mobility in India Uttar Pradesh’ here on Thursday.

Pandey said, “The state will have 30 percent electric vehicles till 2030 and for them, infrastructure will be necessary. We fully support electric mobility and UN Environment’s proposal to set up a state government coordination committee to bring together various departments. We are discussing with the UN to also focus on making NCR-Agra highway corridor electric vehicle friendly which will help reduce air pollution in Agra and also help protect Taj Mahal.”

He said the policy for the electric energy was ready.

Co-organised by UN Environment and EESL in Lucknow, the workshop involved experts and policy makers, state electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) and aggregators to assess the challenges, possible solutions and policy interventions for enabling adoption of e-mobility in the state with a focus on setting up charging infrastructure in the target areas.

“Given the state’s increasing population and growth in vehicle sale, energy conservation in the state is relevant. The state constitutes one of the highest vehicle sales in the country. In 2016-17, it accounted for about 10% of the nationwide sales at 2.3 million. It is also the third largest beneficiary under FAME scheme with 15,000 EVs on the road. The proliferation of EVs in the state will provide an impetus to the EV uptake nationwide,” Pandey said.

Atul Bagai, head, UN Environment India said, “In India, UN Environment is focusing on studies, policy recommendations, pilots and capacity building as part of our larger electric mobility programme. In UP, the project aims to develop a roadmap and policy recommendations to assist the state in becoming a manufacturing hub and promoting e-vehicles and charging infrastructure.”

Navneet Sehgal, principal secretary khadi and village industries board (KVIB) said, “The need of the hour is to shift to clean, non-polluting technologies to protect environment. We have partnered with UN Environment on electric vehicles and solar offgrids,” he said.