Ahead Of World Environment Day, Maharashtra Pledges To Beat Air Pollution And Climate Change Via Electric Cars

New Delhi: The celebrations for 45th World Environment Day in India are in full swing. On Thursday, India’s second-most populous state Maharashtra launched its Electric Vehicle Policy and marked the commencement of e-mobility era in the state. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis along with dignitaries – UN Environment Head Erik Solheim, Union Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Maharashtra Minister Chandrakant Patil launched e-vehicles, and an electric car charging station and signed some Memorandum of Understanding for various initiatives at Mantralaya, Mumbai. UN Environment also signed a funding agreement with the Government of Maharashtra and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a company facilitating energy efficiency projects under India’s Ministry of Power.

CM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Erik Solheim and other dignitaries also took a round in BEST electric buses from Mantralaya to Gateway of India.

At the Gateway, Mr Fadnavis flagged off the first set of 10 EVs in Mumbai and said, “Today, Maharashtra embarks on the path of e-mobility marking an important milestone in its trajectory of growth. He further termed this day as a Historic day for Maharashtra and expressed confidence that this program will lead road towards sustainability in environmental protection as the launch of the electric vehicles will reduce emissions from traffic across the state.

We want to become the biggest consumer of the electric mobility. Pune, Mumbai to take lead. I feel that use of this electric mobility by Government is very important. It is just the beginning and long way to go. Maharashtra will lead this change, said Mr Fadnavis.

Sharing details of the MoUs signed by the Maharashtra government on Thursday with netizens, the Chief Minister said,

The Memorandum of Understandings signed on Thursday includes the supply of Electric Vehicles and chargers to Government of Maharashtra under the electric policy.

Also Read: Minister Of Transport Nitin Gadkari Says No To Separate Policy On Electric Vehicles, Stresses On Action Plans

Erik Solheim, UN Environment Head said, “E-mobility is the future of our cities. Maharashtra’s leadership in promoting electric vehicles is a big step towards cities that can breathe, and where innovation thrives!”

Also present at the launch ceremony was Actor and UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador Dia Mirza and Environmentalist Afroz Shah. Sharing glimpses of the event with the netizens, Dia said,

A moment of pride for #India! The future for urban transport is here. What a fantastic flag off of e-vehicles.

Also Watch: Gul Panag On Whether Electric Cars Can Really Replace Fossil Fuel Cars

Watch The Electric Vehicle Policy Launch Video