Niti Aayog not fit to be implementing agency for EV Mission: Nitin Gadkari

Objecting Niti Aayog proposal to appoint itself as the implementing agency for India's Electric Vehicle (EV) Mission 2030, minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said that the cabinet should appoint anyone fit for the role.

“Niti Aayog’s role is to develop good policies and they should do that. They should not become an implementing agency. Implementation should be given to anybody deemed to be fit by the Cabinet,” Nitin Gadkari said in an interview.

The idea of bringing all EV issues at one place is very welcome but the matter of who should implement it is something Niti Aayog can only suggest as part of its policy recommendations and not take a final call on it, he added.

The decision can be taken up by the Cabinet. The minister’s remarks came as the government thinks tank Niti Aayog prepared Electric Vehicle Policy to drive India’s Electric Vehicle Mission 2030 under which the government plans to make a mass shift to electric vehicles by 2030. This includes both personal and commercial vehicles.

According to a government official, the road ministry raised objections on some other provisions of the Niti Aayog policy. It has suggested that ministries which are stakeholders in the EV mission plan should be made part of this committee which at present is not there. These include ministries of heavy industries, transportation, and power.

Niti Aayog has circulated the draft Electric Vehicle Policy among various ministries, including ministries of road transport and highways and heavy industries and power, in October and November.

Besides, Petroleum Ministry Dharmendra Pradhan has framed up a plans, which will be implemented in next few years, to set up 1000 industries, he added.

Talking about Delhi EV project and solving pollution problem he said, "There is some climatic problem in Delhi. We will help Delhi government provide technology and EVs buses."

Nagpur, the city Nitin Gadkari is MP from, is the only city that has gone electric. It became India’s first city with the electric fleet of 200 electric vehicles, including taxis, buses, e-rickshaw, and autos.