More Than 18 Lakh EVs Registered In India: Nitin Gadkari

Electric vehicle (EV) sales are on a steady rise, and more than 18 lakh electric vehicles have already been registered in India, according to Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH). Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Maharashtra have emerged as the leading states in EV sales as the maximum number of electric vehicles has been registered in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Delhi and Maharashtra. Gadkari also mentioned that Maharashtra has the maximum number of operational public EV charging stations (PCS) at 660, followed by Delhi (539) and Tamil Nadu (439). At present, there are 5,151 public EV charging stations which are operational in India.  The minister said this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said with implementation of the electronic fee collection system, traffic congestion at fee plazas on highways has been reduced significantly. He added that a pilot project of the ANPR-based system has been implemented on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. In this system, applicable user fee is deducted from FASTags based on the entry and exit of the vehicles as captured by ANPR cameras.

Gadkari also mentioned that there are 719 projects across various states where construction works on National Highways were delayed to an extent due to the protracted monsoon in many states and the COVID-19 pandemic. On the Char Dham road project, Gadkari said out of 53 packages covering a total length of 825 km in Uttarakhand, 43 packages with a total length of 683 km have been sanctioned.

(With PTI Inputs)