The Telangana government plans to replace about 4,000 state-run public transport vehicles in Hyderabad, run on diesel, with electric vehicles in a phased manner, state Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said.
"As an environment-friendly measure, we are also introducing, we have nearly 3,800 Road Transport Corporation (RTC) vehicles, public transport system, in Hyderabad. We are phasing them out," he said.
"We are changing the diesel locomotives. We are bringing in electric vehicles. 500 in the first phase and eventually all 4,000 vehicles will be replaced with electric vehicles," he said.
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The minister was speaking at the World Environment Week celebrations organised here today. UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim was present. The government would also introduce electric vehicles for garbage collection from residential colonies, Rao said.
Presently, 2,500 auto trolleys are being used for garbage collection. The state government would bring out an electric vehicle policy, he said. The metro rail network and the Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) train services would be expanded in the city to promote public transport, he said. Telangana is number one in the country in solar power generation at 3300 MW, he said.
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Solheim stressed the importance of solar energy. He appreciated the massive tree plantation drive ('Telangana ku Haritha Haram' programme) of the Telangana government. "If you green a city, yes, you make it much more lively. Much better for mother earth. It is also much better for jobs and economy. Because, these green cities of the world are the attractive cities, attracting the best people, the places people want to go," he said.
He cited the example of Singapore which is affluent and also green at the same time. He also highlighted the importance of environment-friendly modes of transport like metro rail and electric vehicles and the negative impact of plastic. Rao and Solheim flagged off electric vehicles on the occasion.
