Charge Car on the Road — Delhi-Jaipur Stretch Could be India’s First e-Highway by Mid-2022

New Delhi: The Modi government is working towards rolling out a pilot project to construct electric highways in India. Sources in the road ministry said the first stretch of e-highways is likely to be completed by mid-2022.

An electric highway or electric road recharges the batteries of vehicles driving on it. It is considered an energy-efficient option and helps in reducing carbon footprint.

The e-highway project has been a keen focus area for Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. In an interview with PTI in 2016, Gadkari had said India may soon have an ‘electric highway’ stretch, similar to the one in Sweden.

Last year, he said that talks were on with a Swedish firm for an electric highway on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. And during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha in March this year, the Union Minister said, “Buses and trucks can ply on this e-highway at a speed of 120 kmph and will bring down the logistics cost by 70 per cent.”

The first stretch where the government is considering rolling out the project is the 200 km-long Delhi-Jaipur highway on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, where 20 per cent of the roads will be electrified, the sources said. A separate lane will be built to recharge the batteries of cargo trucks and other electric vehicles.

Source : The Print