In a bid to support sustainable and clean mobility solutions, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation from April 1 will only procure electric vehicles (EVs), as per the state government’s orders. To date, the civic body has installed six charging stations and has initiated the tendering process to install 25 more. “We have already installed six charging points including one at the BMC head office and have invited tenders for 25 more,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner Sunil Godse, who is in charge of the environment department, said. The BMC has plans to install a total of 85 charging stations in its jurisdiction, for its vehicles.

Converting vehicles to EV

“The BMC has over 400 passenger car vehicles along with a few heavy vehicles like buses and trucks. We will convert all these vehicles into EVs step by step. We will start with cars, and for buses and other heavy vehicles we will use those that are available in the electric version,” the official said. Last year, the civic body put out a tender for hiring 210 EV cars. However, due to lack of infrastructure, like charging points, it was decided to hire fossil fuel cars, said the official. “After installation of more charging points, we will hire or buy only EVs,” the official said. As per the official, At the moment, BMC has only one EV, which has been hired from Energy Efficiency Services Limited, a central government undertaking.