The Himachal Pradesh government in India has prepared a comprehensive State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) to make the state carbon-neutral.
The plan, which identifies co-benefits in mitigation and adaptation, particularly with regard to rural livelihood improvements, is dynamic in nature and is updated regularly, the government stated in written reply to a question by Gagret MLA Chaitanya Sharma during the just concluded winter session of the Himachal assembly.
The first version of the SAPCC-2012 has been updated to SAPCC-2021-30 and circulated to all stakeholder departments for inclusion of recommended actions in preparing their policy and plans, the government stated.
Responding to Sharma’s query on initiatives taken by the government to achieve the target of a carbon-neutral Himachal, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the state government had taken a number of steps in this direction.
He said the state was formulating the Integrated Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plans to enable planners to stabilise the entire catchments and avoid fragmented prescriptions. Integrated CAT plans for an entire river basin are deemed global best practice for managing impacts, said Sukhu.
One of the initiatives taken by the government to make Himachal carbon neutral is prioritising ropeway projects as an innovative and green mode of transportation for urban decongestion as well as rural connectivity, said the CM.
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Being entirely dependent on electricity, ropeways are eco-friendly with the lowest carbon footprint emissions, land acquisition costs, and very less fossil fuel usage as compared to other travel modes like roadways, railways, and airways, he added.
Sukhu said another major initiative was encouraging the use of electric vehicles for which the government had set a target to transform the state into a ‘Green Energy State’ by March 2026.
Presently, the Himachal Road Transport Corporation is plying 110 e-buses and 50 e-taxis in the state, he said. The transport department has replaced its existing fleet of vehicles with electric vehicles and there is a proposal for replacement of existing diesel buses with electric buses in a phased manner, the CM added.
The government has also notified an e-taxi scheme under the Rajiv Gandhi Swarozgar Start-up Yojana through which 500 e-taxi permits will be issued to the unemployed youth of the state and these vehicles shall be attached with government departments/boards on their demand, he said.
The government of Himachal Pradesh plans to change the energy policy and harness 500 MW of solar energy to make the state self-reliant.
By achieving the solar energy production target, the government will save Rs 1,000 crore annually on electricity purchase. The government aims to establish a 32 MW solar power plant in Pekhuwala and make the state a green energy state by 2026.
Additionally, the government offers a 50 percent subsidy on electric vehicle purchases and a 50 percent subsidy to buy e-taxis under the Rajiv Gandhi Startup Scheme.
