Action plan by Tamil Nadu on steps to reduce vehicular pollution, 12/10/2020
Action plan by the government of Tamil Nadu in the matter of L. G. Saha Devan Vs Union of India & Others dated 12/10/2020. The matter related to steps to reduce pollution level in the air through vehicles.
The Tamil Nadu government is taking various steps to increase the purchase of E-vehicles which will in turn reduce the pollution level in the air. The Tamil Nadu Electric Vehicle Policy 2019 provides various concessions to manufacturers and users of E-vehicles.
The government of Tamil Nadu aims to attract 50,000 crores of investment in EV manufacturing, providing infrastructure for charging, shared mobility, recycle and reuse used batteries and disposal of rejected batteries in an environment friendly manner to avoid pollution. Tamil Nadu had issued government orders for concessional rate of life time tax in respect of e-vehicles. Moreover, the Tamil Nadu E-Vehicle Policy gives 50% tax exemption till 2022 for all e-vehicles of two and four wheelers. The number of e-vehicles registered in 2020 is gradually increasing.
The report stated that the state would promote conversion of all auto rickshaws in 6 major cities Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Salem and Tirunelveli to EVs within a span of 10 years and this will be extended to other cities and towns in a gradual manner. Similarly, the state would support conversion of all taxis and app based transport operators and aggregators in the 6 major cities to EVs within a span of 10 years. Around 1000 EV buses would be introduced every year and the private operators would be encouraged to transition to EV buses.
The Indian Oil Corporation has come up with a new project making available compressed bio gas (CBG) in Salem and Namakkal districts for use in automobile. This CBG is produced from biomass/waste sources and has a calorific value and other properties similar to CNG and can be used as an alternative renewable automotive fuel.
These were some of the points mentioned in the report.