Bhanjanagar: In order to encourage faster adoption of e-vehicles in the state, the government has announced to provide 15 percent subsidy on the purchase cost of electric vehicles, a report said. The decision was taken as per the Odisha Electric Vehicle Policy 2021. The subsidy for two-wheelers is Rs 5,000 which is 15% of the cost of the vehicle; for three-wheelers, the subsidy is Rs 10,000 and for four-wheelers, it stands at Rs 50,000. The subsidy is applicable to people who have purchased e-vehicles from September 1, 2021. However, lack of awareness has hit the plan.
Reports said that subsidy money worth several lakhs are lying idle at the regional transport office (RTO) in Bhanjanagar without being distributed to the people who have bought electric vehicles. A quick examination of e-vehicles registered at the RTO in Bhanjanagar reveals some anomalies. Reports said that 87 e-vehicles have been registered at the RTO in Bhanjanagar out of which only 15 vehicle owners have received their subsidy money from the office by Thursday while the rest 72 owners are yet to receive the same. The vehicle owners who had not taken their subsidy amounts after purchasing e-vehicles after September 2021 are required to log into the link of Odisha Motor Vehicle Department website under State Transport Authority (STA) and apply for payment of the money. They do not have to pay any fee for availing the subsidy money. The vehicle owners while applying will have to submit the copy of the first page of their bank passbooks along with the registration number. The subsidy amounts will be credited into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries by the RTOs where the vehicles have been registered after completing the online verification of documents. The scheme will be in place till December 31, 2025. When contacted, Subhendu Ray, regional transport officer (RTO) in Bhanjanagar said that the two-wheeler and three-wheeler e-vehicles are being done without any registration fee. The vehicles also do not require any road permits.
Moreover, e-vehicles under 250- watt capacity also do not require any registration, he said. He said that those vehicle owners who have not received their subsidy money will be paid immediately after filing their applications online. He said that the verification of vehicles will be intensified in the days to come.
On the other hand, the state government has formed a solatium fund to provide financial assistance to the kin of the dead or critically injured persons of road mishaps caused by unknown vehicles. The kin of persons dying in road mishaps due to unknown vehicles will receive Rs 2 lakh as financial assistance. The kin of the critically injured persons will receive Rs 50,000 as financial assistance. The RTO office here has provided Rs 2 lakh assistance to the next kin of six deceased persons by Thursday while efforts are on to provide the assistance to kin of three more deceased. No critically injured persons have not yet applied to receive the financial assistance, the reports added.