Source: www.morth.nic.in
Travel is an indispensable requirement of the modern-day world. There is an increasing dependence on fuels required to run various means of transport. Most of the fuel requirement in India is still being met through the burning of the ever-depleting fossil fuels in the form of petrol and diesel. These sources shall not merely be for a limited period which shall be exhausted over a span of time but the pollution caused by them shall also contaminate the surrounding environmental components such as soil, air and water.
The solution to the problem
The advancement in science and technology has reached to greater heights and has been quite successful in its attempt to provide alternative sources to run the vehicles making travel an environment friendly experience.
Alternative sources to fuel
Recourses have been made to biodiesel, bio-alcohol, refuse-derived fuel, chemically stored electricity, hydrogen, non-fossil methane, non-fossil natural gas, vegetable oil, propane and other biomass resources.
Electrifying sources
Use of vehicles dependent on electricity in order to meet the travel needs contributes towards the protection of the environment. These vehicles fulfil their fuel needs by relying on batteries, solar panels or an electric generator empowering them.
Steps by the Government
The Government has been taking active steps in promoting the environment protection by the enforcement of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) with the objective of conservation and improvement of environment.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (hereinafter referred to as the “Ministry”) has exempted the requirement of any permits in order to encourage the use of vehicles which do not pollute the environment.[1] The vehicles sourcing their energy requirements from alternative fuels including Compressed natural gas, ethanol or electric vehicles do not require any permit allowing the use of a vehicle as per provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. A number of permits required by commercial vehicles include contract carriage bus permit, goods carrier permit and cab permit, among others.
The Ministry has already provided GST at 12 % in respect of electric vehicles and the Government also intends to introduce a subsidy on the electric vehicle charging infrastructures.
Following the regime of progressive steps towards a greener and cleaner environment the Ministry has promoted the usage of pollution free vehicle by facilitating legal compliance and going away with the essential prerequisite of permits.
[1]https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/end-of-permit-raj-for-electric-alternative-fuel-vehicles/articleshow/65711728.cms