DW BUREAU / Shimla

The Himachal Pradesh government has approved the installation of EV charging stations at 402 strategically selected locations, which include government premises such as PWD rest houses, circuit houses, offices of DCs and SPs, officials said on Wednesday. The plan entails setting up 252 charging stations in PWD rest houses, 19 in Jal Shakti rest houses, 18 in HPSEBL premises, 100 in the Forest Department rest houses, 12 at DC and SP office complexes, and one at the Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA) office, a statement issued here said.

"The objective of this initiative is to develop a seamless and efficient EV charging network across the state, which would support the adoption of EVs by government departments and encourage sustainable transportation, contributing to environmental conservation," said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

With the state government mandating all departments to procure EVs for their fleet, the number of electric vehicles in Himachal Pradesh is steadily rising. So far, 4,997 EVs have been registered in the state and under the e-taxi scheme, 500 electric taxis are being inducted into various government departments. To meet this growing demand, the state government has already notified six highways as green corridors and efforts are underway to install charging stations at petrol pumps, government premises, HPTDC hotels, and private hospitality units.

Currently, 23 charging stations are operational at petrol pumps and 90 more petrol pumps are expected to be equipped with charging infrastructure by the end of this year, the statement added.

(editor@dailyworld.in)