New Delhi: Odisha has been sanctioned 18 charging stations by the Department of Heavy Industries under FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) scheme phase II.
They are among the 2,636 charging stations sanctioned to come up in 62 cities across 24 states and union territories (UTs) to boost clean road transport.
Maharashtra has been allootted the highest number, 317, EV charging stations, followed by 266 in Andhra Pradesh, 256 in Tamil Nadu, 228 in Gujarat, and 205 in Rajasthan. Other states include Karnataka with 172, Madhya Pradesh with 159, West Bengal with 141, Telangana with 138, and Kerala with 131 EV charging stations.
Those which have been allotted less than hundred include Delhi (72), Chandigarh (70), Haryana (50), Meghalaya (40), Bihar (37), Sikkim (29), Jammu, Kashmir and Chhattisgarh (25 each), Assam (20), Odisha (18) and Uttarakhand, Puducherry and Himachal Pradesh (10 each).
Union Heavy Industries Minister Prakash Javadekar said that in future, at least one charging station will be made available in most of the selected cities, in a grid of 4 Km X 4Km.
Javadekar also said that more EV charging stations will encourage original equipment manufacturers to introduce a larger number of electric vehicle models in the market.
