The government in Hyderabad wants to encourage people to use environmentally-friendly transportation and get rid of old auto-rickshaws to reduce pollution. They want to switch to EV (electric vehicle) mobility, but drivers say there are challenges because they have to pay for most of the retrofitting costs themselves. The government provides a subsidy of Rs 15,000, but it costs around Rs 1 lakh to retrofit an old auto-rickshaw into an EV.
There are over 3.5 lakh autos in Greater Hyderabad and more than five lakh autos across the state. The Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO) has asked the Transport department to encourage auto owners, particularly those with old ones, to switch to EVs. The TSREDCO has also urged the government to provide workshops with auto companies and workers to make them aware of new changes and provide adequate charging points.
The Telangana Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2020-30 lays stress on faster adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and EVs (FAME-II) scheme being implemented since April 2019. Under the scheme, the government provides a subsidy of Rs 15,000 and remaining costs would have to be borne by the vehicle-owner. The government has already announced 100% road tax and registration fee exemption for the first 20,000 electric three-wheelers and the first 10,000 electric light goods carriers, including three-wheelers.
