They said, in 2020 we will have flying cars but even in 2021 forget flying cars we could not get proper charging facilities for our Electric Cars as Gujarat has only 27 public stations, according to the data provided by the Union Minister of Power.
When we are paying huge amounts in taxes as fuel surcharges are high and other options of having an Electric car are not that practical, we should question the speed at which the EV Infrastructure is being set up in the state. We are way lower in public stations compared to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
EV Public Infrastructure:
| No. | State | EV Public Stations |
| 1 | Delhi | 322 |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | 108 |
| 3 | Tamil Nadu | 94 |
| 4 | Maharastra | 88 |
| 5 | Gujarat | 27 |
Other Factors Hampering EV Growth Story-
Another factor which goes against easy adoption of Electric cars is that prices are way higher. Take for example, Tata Nexon which has Petrol-Diesel options as well an EV option. The Difference between the base variant of EV (Tata Nexon XM) costs around Rs 5,00,000 more than the same variant in Petrol-Diesel. And because there is no charging infrastructure available, it makes EVs a burdensome choice for the consumer. According to the data provided by the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA) most vehicles sold in the state are two-wheelers and people are buying them just to commute within the city as there is no substantial EV charging infrastructure on highways.
In India, the Government should seriously think about improving EV infrastructure as there are badly damaged roads and highways here. There are many cities that are facing regular power cuts, policies of the Government that increase power tariffs without justification are some of the problems people are facing in India.
The issue of electric supply is at the core for us as a country like China which is way ahead of us in Infrastructure was facing power cuts in it’s northern part, as the consumption increased rapidly. The situation is so grim that curbs on electricity consumption were imposed, some factories were asked to halt the production. In some cities, traffic lights were switched off and restrictions were announced in many provinces.
EV India Story-
Government should assure people that Electricity charges will not be increased exorbitantly as naturally demand will increase with the rising number of Electric Vehicles.
As we have seen in the case of mixing Ethanol in Petrol top politicians repeatedly promised that Petrol prices will go down. State-owned Indian Oil is mixing 10% Ethanol in Petrol but we are still paying 100% for the petrol.
Way Forward-
If we match our policies and promote green energy, with a clear intent to help Environment, generations to come will thank us for our efforts in saving the environment as we know that Electric vehicles can help us achieve the climate change targets set at COP26.
