Tuesday, October 01, 2019
By Manoj Kumawat
No Diesel Taxis Anymore In West Bengal
With an objective of phasing out the diesel vehicles spoiling the environment by emitting hazardous gases, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) in collaboration with the state government has decided to replace diesel taxis with electric vehicles. This information was revealed by one of the senior officials. Commenting on the situation, WBPCB, Chairman, Mr. Kalyan Rudra, said, “ The pollution watchdog, in association with the state transport department, wanted to promote electric cabs, instead of diesel taxis which are usually seen on roads in the city and neighborhood”.
In the words of Mr. Rudra, the existing 1,000 yellow taxis in the state which are more than fifteen years old will be identified, and their owners will be asked to upgrade their taxis into electric vehicles and for this initiative they will be offered the subsidy of Rs. 1 lakh by the state government. He also said that, “"This is just in the initial stage. The transport department will submit a detailed report about the proposed scheme to the WBPCB and we will initiate follow-up steps,."
It would be interesting to know that last week, Union Minister of State For Environment, Forest and Climate, Mr. Babul Supriyo had said in a statement, that there is need to phase out the vehicles that are generating toxic gases spoiling the environment.
