Shillong, Oct 20: The Meghalaya State Transport Department on Tuesday presented the draft Meghalaya Electric Vehicle policy, 2020 to the State Government. The policy envisages to promote innovation through start-ups and will create a pool of skilled manpower.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma tweeted that the policy will soon be placed before the cabinet for its approval.

This policy aims at promoting clean and green environment and create conducive electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in the state. The salient features mentioned in the policy are encouraging adoption of at least 15% Electric Vehicles (EVs) by 2025, mandating adoption of EVs in Govt.,  replacing Meghalaya Transport Corporation buses with EVs, providing clean and green environment at tourist spots and supporting recycling of batteries.

The #Meghalaya Electric Vehicle Policy 2020 is at its final stage and will be cleared by the Cabinet soon. A meeting was held today with senior officials to discuss the salient features of the policy. @PrakashJavdekar @arjunrammeghwal @heindustry pic.twitter.com/d9O9IPJLgv

— Conrad Sangma (@SangmaConrad) October 20, 2020

Through this policy the transport department strives to encourage EV Charging Stations through Coordination with stakeholders, encourage recycling of batteries by alignment with latest standards and rules of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The Meghalaya Electric Vehicle Policy 2020 shall be initially valid for a period of 5 years, when notified.

At least ten states in India have final or draft EV polices. The states with approved EV policies include: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. The states with draft policies include: Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand.