All new tourist vehicles and cabs and also motorbikes provide on rent in Goa will have to be electric vehicles from January 2024, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. Goa government proposes major reforms to promote EVs in the coastal state, Pramod Sawant said addressing a side-event organise by the NITI Aayog during the ongoing fourth Energy Transitions Working Group meeting under India’s G20 Presidency in Panaji.
India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant was also present at the side event.
Goa ranks fourth in India in terms of percentage of electric vehicles (EVs) purchase in any state, Pramod Sawant said.
Pramod Sawant said all new tourist vehicles, cabs and motorbikes provide on rent will mandatorily have to be electric vehicles from January 2024.
He also said new vehicles purchase by the government from January 2024 will mandatorily be EVs.
Pramod Sawant said :
“It will also be mandatory for permit holders having multiple tourist taxis, rent-a-bike and rent-a-cab (service) operators to retrofit 30 percent of the fleet to electric vehicles by June 2024,”.
He said the per capita vehicle ownership in Goa is 4.5 times the national average.
Goa is rank 15th in the world in terms of vehicle density.
Being a global tourism hotspot, more than 85 lakh tourists visit Goa every year against the state’s population of 15 lakh, Pramod Sawant said.
Pramod Sawant said :
“This forms a major contributor for the increased carbon emission in the state due to a large number of taxis, rent-a-vehicle (services) and buses used to ferry tourists,”.
As per a recent study, 40% of the total carbon emission generated in Goa is due to the operation of vehicles, Pramod Sawant said.
The Goa government has provide financial assistance for 1,679 electric vehicles amounting to Rs. 122 million (Rs 12.2 crore) under a scheme, Pramod Sawant said.
Pramod Sawant said :
“Subsequent to the introduction of the scheme, the percentage sale of vehicles increased exponentially from 0.2 per cent to 9.4 per cent in 2022-23,”.
