Bihar came up with an electric vehicle policy on Tuesday to promote the use of e-vehicles by providing subsidies on purchase and registration.

It will also introduce 400 electric buses in six major cities, encourage charging infrastructure, and scrap government vehicles that are 15 years old.

The decisions were taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar in a bid to improve air quality in view of public welfare.

Briefing media persons about the Bihar Electric Vehicle Policy, 2023, cabinet secretariat department additional chief secretary S. Siddharth said that encouraging the use of electric vehicles was a global strategy in view of the rising price of fossil fuels, their depletion and the pollution caused by them.

“Electric vehicles will lessen the emission of greenhouse gases and noise pollution, will improve air quality and environment, and ensure the safety of people.

“The Government of India has fixed a target of the sale of 30 per cent electric vehicles in overall sale of vehicles in the country by 2030 to lend support to the global campaign of EV30@30,” Siddharth said.

The policy will be effective for five years from the date of its notification.

According to it, people buying electric two-wheelers will get Rs 5,000 as an incentive for per kilowatt hour (KWh) capacity. There will be special encouragement in the sale of the first 10,000 such vehicles in the state in which people from the Scheduled Castes (SC) will get Rs 10,000 as an incentive while those hailing from other castes will get Rs 7,500.

People buying electric three-wheelers — passenger or goods carriers — will get a 50 per cent subsidy on motor vehicles tax.

“Those purchasing four-wheelers will get an incentive of Rs 10,000 per KWh capacity. For the first 1,000 registered four-wheelers, buyers from the SC will get a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh while those from other castes will get Rs 1.25 lakh as incentive,” Siddharth said.

Similarly, several kinds of incentives will be provided for the purchase and registration of light and heavy passenger vehicles and goods carriers.

The state government will also introduce 400 buses in six cities — Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga and Purnea. This will incur an expenditure of over Rs 960 crore that will be borne by the Centre and the state in a ratio of 60:40.

In another major decision in the field of environment protection, the cabinet approved the mandatory scrapping of all government vehicles that are 15 years old or more.