Tripura announces electric vehicle policy to curb pollution

The Tripura government announced an Electric Vehicle Policy to curb pollution caused by traffic and to save fuel. An official said Tripura is the 15th state in the country and third in the northeastern region to adopt such a policy.

Assam and Meghalaya have already adopted policies to promote electric vehicles.

The state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha adopted the Tripura Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 to encourage more people to use EVs. The government is planning to convert 10% of the 60,000 vehicles in the state into electric-powered in the next five years, said the senior official.

Over 12,000 vehicles in the state are powered by the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), provided by the state-owned Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited (TNGCL). This includes around 8,000 private cars and 3,800 auto-rickshaws. The CNG is cheaper and entirely pollution-free.

TNGCL is the first to set up CNG in 1990 in entire eastern India. It is a joint venture between GAIL (India) Ltd, Tripura Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, and Assam Gas Company Ltd.

Electric vehicles are quickly gaining popularity in India despite a few accidents. The rising cost of petrol and diesel is one of the factors. The Centre launched the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) in 2020. Under this initiative, the government rolled out the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme to promote the manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicle technology to completely achieve electrification by 2030.