Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that from January 2024, all new tourist vehicles as well as taxis and motorcycles for rent in Goa will have to be electric vehicles.
Sawant, speaking at a side event organized by NITI Aayog on the sidelines of the fourth Working Group on Energy Transformation meeting being held in Panaji during India’s G20 presidency, said the Goa government proposed major reforms to promote electric vehicles in the coastal state.
India’s G20 coordinator Amitabh Kant also attended the side event.
Sawant said Goa ranks fourth in India in terms of the percentage of electric vehicles (EVs) purchased by states.
He said that from January next year, all new tourist vehicles, taxis and motorcycles must be electric.
He also said that from January 2024, new cars purchased by the government will have to be electric.
“License holders with multiple tourist taxi, bike rental and taxi (service) operators will also have to convert 30% of their fleet to electric vehicles by June 2024,” Sawant said.
He said the per capita car ownership in Goa is 4.5 times the national average.
Goa ranks 15th in the world in terms of vehicle density. He said that as a global tourism hotspot, more than 8.5 million tourists visit Goa every year, while the state’s population is only 1.5 million.
“Due to the large number of taxis, rental vehicles (services) and buses used to transport tourists, this is the main reason for the increase in carbon emissions in the state,” Sawant said.
He said that according to a recent study, 40% of the total carbon emissions generated in Goa are caused by the operation of vehicles.
The Goa government has provided financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1,679 for 1,679 electric vehicles. 122 million (Rs 122 million) under one scheme, Sawant said.
“After the launch of this scheme, the vehicle sales percentage will increase exponentially from 0.2 per cent to 9.4 per cent in 2022-23,” he said.
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