Govt will use the electric, alternative fuel vehicles to replace scrapped ones: Nitin

New Delhi: Government vehicles to be scrapped under the Centre’s vehicle scrappage policy will be replaced with cleaner mobility technology vehicles, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said Tuesday while speaking at the 7th edition of the ETAuto EV Conclave in the city.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while unveiling the union budget that all state and central government-owned vehicles including buses owned by transport corporations and public sector undertakings that have been on the road for over 15 years would be scrapped.

Gadkari said about 900,000 government vehicles would be replaced by electric or alternative fuel vehicles to reduce the country’s crude oil import bill as well as cut down on pollution.

There is also a demand for about 1 million buses which should be converted to electric buses as they offer a far superior operating cost while also reducing pollution, he said. “We are planning a sky bus in Bengaluru as a cheaper alternative to the metro,” he added.

India faces two major challenges pertaining to the auto industry, he said -- the the import of fossil fuels worth over Rs 17 lakh crore and the increasing levels of pollution. “If we can save fossil fuel imports, we can make India green and
create employment.”

There are about 1 million electric vehicles registered in India, he said, and the government is aiming for 10 million units by 2030.

The minister said two philosophies were required to move towards green mobility: investment in new technology and avoiding material waste. “Technology is all about converting knowledge to wealth,” he said.

“Convert rice straw, barley to bio bitumen. India requires 80 lakh tonnes of bitumen out of which 30 lakh tonnes is imported at the moment,” he said, adding: “NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) is ready to buy bio-bitumen from farmers produced locally.