Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has instructed state transport department officials to implement policies for scrapping vehicles older than 15 years. As per a release from the Chief Minister’s Office on Monday, the directive was issued during a meeting at the Sahyadri Guest House to review 100-day action plans for the Transport, Ports, and State Airport Authority departments.
13,000 Outdated Government Vehicles Set for Scrapping
The Chief Minister stressed the importance of scrapping all vehicles over 15 years old, including both public and private ones.
According to the release, over 13,000 outdated government vehicles will be scrapped. Additionally, state transport corporation buses older than 15 years will either be replaced or retrofitted with LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) kits to enhance performance.
The Chief Minister also detailed plans for the state’s electric vehicle (EV) policy, scheduled to be launched within the next three years, according to the release. Fadnavis directed the transport department to roll out bike taxi and maxi cab services to improve urban mobility. He emphasized the need to establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure bus safety, particularly in accident-prone ghat regions, the release noted.
Fadnavis Advocates AI Integration for Road Safety
The Chief Minister instructed the state transport department to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to minimize road accidents and enhance overall safety measures.
Maharashtra-Google Partnership to Drive AI Solutions
Highlighting a recent agreement between the Maharashtra government and Google, the Chief Minister stressed utilizing this collaboration to implement AI-driven solutions, enhancing the sector’s security, sustainability, and efficiency.