Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday began using an electric vehicle (EV) following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to cut fuel use. He also said he has given directions to reduce the size of his convoy. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, however, called the move belated and slammed the Mahayuti government for having “dumped” a provision of the 2021 EV policy introduced during the MVA government’s tenure that mandated EV cars for all government ministers and officials.
Government plans to reduce vehicle fleet
Officials said chief secretary Rajesh Aggarwal has sought a report on the vehicles used by various departments to reduce the number of government vehicles. This could result in a cut in the number of extra vehicles of ministers and senior officials. There are 33 cabinet ministers and 6 junior ministers in the state, and they have a fleet of many vehicles. “Discussions are being held to reduce the size of the convoys. Barring the Chief Minister and the two Deputy Chief Ministers, this cut could be applied to the fleet of all ministers and junior ministers,” said an official.
Shinde defends the move
Shinde said while the size of his convoy will be slashed, the vehicles necessary for security will remain. “Other ministers have also been asked to use EVs. This is not Narendra Modi’s personal work but a work of national interest. He has asked that citizens be affected as little as possible by the war. Opposition parties should decide where and when to do politics,” he said.
Thackeray criticizes the move
Thackeray, who had served as environment minister in the MVA government and had played a key role in launching the EV policy, said in a post on X that the 2021 policy had mandated that all ministers, government departments and urban local bodies requiring new cars from 2022 would only rent or purchase electric vehicles. “But when the government changed, this aspect of the policy was dumped... Now some ministers and MLAs are purchasing electric vehicles overnight for the photo ops. Great! But what about those who can’t?” he asked.
He also questioned whether the burden on citizens will be reduced. “Will BEST tickets become cheaper again and other public transport be subsidised? Will Metro tickets see a reduction in price?” he said.
