All new tourist vehicles in Goa to be EVs from Jan 2024: CM Sawant: PTI

All new tourist vehicles, as well as cabs and motorbikes provided on rent in Goa will have to be electric vehicles from January 2024, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.  

The Goa government is proposing major reforms to promote EVs in the coastal state, Sawant said addressing a side-event organised by the NITI Aayog during the ongoing fourth Energy Transitions Working Group meeting under India's G20 Presidency in Panaji.

India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant was also present at the side event.

Goa ranks fourth in India in terms of percentage of electric vehicles purchased in any state, Sawant said.

He further added that all new tourist vehicles, cabs and motorbikes provided on rent, will mandatorily have to be electric vehicles from January next year. He further said that new vehicles purchased by the government from January 2024, Sawant said.

He stated that the per capita vehicle ownership in Goa is 4.5 times the national average. Goa is ranked 15^th in terms of vehicle density. Being a global tourism hotspot, over 85 lakh tourists visit Goa each year, compared to the state population of 15 lakh, he added.

“This forms a major contributor for the increased carbon emission in the state due to a large number of taxis, rent a vehicle services and buses used to ferry tourists,” he stated.