Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has eased its mandatory electric vehicle hiring policy for official use, permitting administrative departments to engage petrol or diesel vehicles when open tenders for electric vehicles fail to draw responsive bids.
The Finance Department issued the revised guidelines through an Office Memorandum dated October 12 after several departments reported operational challenges and a shortage of suitable bids under the earlier rules. Those rules, notified in June 2026, had required all hired official vehicles to be electric from June 1 as part of efforts to cut fuel costs amid the West Asia crisis.
The government has revised the guidelines under specific conditions:
Mandatory Prior EV Tender: Offices must first float an open tender for hiring EVs. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles can only be considered if no responsive bids are received.
Submission of Proof: Departments must submit a formal proposal accompanied by documentary evidence proving the failure of the initial EV tender.
Replacement of Scrapped Vehicles: If the new vehicle is hired strictly as a replacement for a condemned or scrapped departmental vehicle, the respective department is authorised to approve the relaxation.
Finance Department Approval: If hiring an ICE vehicle without scrapping an existing vehicle, or for newly set up offices and sanctioned posts, prior concurrence and detailed justification must be submitted to the Finance Department.
Adherence to Guidelines: Any conventional vehicle engaged under these provisions must still follow the comprehensive hiring guidelines issued in May 2025.
Decentralisation of Vehicle Procurement and Phase-out of OREDA
In a related procedural change, the government has ended the practice of routing vehicle hiring through the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency. Individual offices will now conduct their own open tenders after obtaining approval from the competent authority. Existing OREDA contracts will continue until they expire, after which the agency will fully withdraw from providing vehicle hiring services to state departments.
