SHILLONG:
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday presented the state budget for 2022-23 in the assembly with a special focus on decongesting Shillong city by introducing electric buses for boosting public transport.
However, even after joining a dozen other states by introducing the electric vehicle (EV) policy in 2021, the promises in the budget seem bleak with the lack of supporting infrastructure —charging and battery swapping stations — and a clearly earmarked budget.
The government committed a budget of Rs 20 crore for improving mobility, including electric mobility, in Shillong.
Apart from a statement on introducing electric buses and e-buggies for major tourism spots, no commitments were made on the electric mobility infrastructure across other parts of the state.
The cost implications of setting up an EV charging station are particularly high. As per EV charging service provider Volttic, cost of setting up a station ranges between Rs 16.5 lakh to Rs 40 lakh in India.
This means that for anyone investing in setting up an EV charging station, with 7-8 hours of daily usage and a profit margin of Rs 3 – Rs. 3.50 per unit of electricity, it will take at least seven years to recover costs, as per a report by Moneycontrol.
For a state like Meghalaya, which has only six EVs — forming 0.001 per cent of the state’s entire fleet — as per the state’s EV policy, allocations for fleet deployment and infrastructure development, therefore, will not be sufficient nor profitable.
The allocation in the budget is quite conservative even considering the state’s aim of achieving a target of having 20,000 electric vehicles by 2025.
In the EV policy, the state committed to setting up charging facilities in key locations, including MTC depots, the inter-state bus terminus, the deputy commissioner’s offices, the Secretariat, the state central library, the urban affairs department’s parking lots, hotels, shopping malls, cinema halls and apartments.
However, ever since the roll out of the policy, no commitment has been emphasised upon nor have the statuses of deployment been spoken about.
With the state earning a major revenue from fuel, the future of EVs in the state has not yet carved its niche.