The Cabinet division has rejected the proposed electric vehicle policy prepared by the Ministry of Climate Change and formed a 12-member council with members from Ministry of Industries and Production and Ministry of Climate Change to end the rift and finalize the policy with mutual consent.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has the vision to turn the local automobile industry into electric mobility. In this regard, he chaired a meeting which was comprised of the Committee on Climate Change in which he was informed about several types of research related to the electric cars and its benefits. Upon realizing the environmental and economic benefits, PM issued directives to formulate an electric vehicle policy. The adviser to the PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam told media that by the year 2030, 30% of the vehicles in the country would be converted on batteries. The decision of converting to electric vehicles is much anticipated as it has the potential to reduce the oil import bill of the country as well. Later on, the Ministry of Climate Change started working on the e-policy and recently announced that the policy has been completed and sent to the Cabinet for approval in its next session. The electric policy was all set to be presented before the cabinet meeting, but the Ministry of Industries and Production interfered at this moment. The ministry wrote a letter to the Ministry of Climate Change in which it clearly stated that making the e-policy was not under the scope of the official powers of Ministry of Climate Change.
The Cabinet Division finally stepped in to end the rift between the two ministries over the formulation of electric vehicle policy. It stated that under Schedule 11 to the rules of business, the formulation of any industrial policy is allocated to the Ministry of Industries and Production. Although the Ministry of Climate Change is not linked to developing any industry-related policy – but since it had started working on it, the decision was made to keep it in the consultation process. It would ensure giving the necessary advice on preparing the e-policy which meets the Industrial Environmental Standards. A committee was thereby constituted which included senior officials and representatives of Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of Climate Change, Board of Investment Ministry of Commerce and Federal Board of Revenue. The additional secretary of Ministry of Industries and Production was appointed the Chairman of this committee.
In the recent development, the adviser to PM on Commerce, Abdul Razzak Dawood held a meeting with the adviser to PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam. It was decided that a comprehensive e-vehicle policy will be formulated by the Ministry of Industries and Production that will address the environmental issues as well as promote healthy competition in the local auto sector. The policy will offer diverse options for the end consumers in all price brackets. He further ensured that the upcoming policy would be implemented under a broader scope of the Auto Development Policy 2016-21 (ADP). The policy will focus on introducing electric vehicles to reduce the carbon footprint on the environment and at the same time, not causing any harm to the existing local auto industry. Furthermore, all the concerned stakeholders will be consulted in finalizing the e-policy.
On the other hand, a meeting was held between Amin Aslam and the CEO of Indus Motor Company Ali Asghar Jamali. On this occasion, the adviser to PM on Climate Change said that there is a need to introduce a new auto policy as the existing auto development policy 2016-21 doesn’t meet the requirements of electric vehicles. The local auto manufacturers believe that the introduction of electric vehicles would adversely affect their businesses. However, the Ministry of Climate Change will not proceed in making the e-policy and will only be a part of the consultation process.
The introduction of electric vehicles will be a huge development in the auto sector of Pakistan, but under the current circumstances of economic crisis, its future doesn’t seem too bright. However, there is a dire need to save the environment from the carbon emissions that have raised the pollution levels drastically. Electric cars are the future of the automobile sector, and the world is already shifting towards electric mobility. It will be interesting to see what type of e-vehicle policy, the Ministry of Industries of Production will come up with. Stay connected with PakWheels for any update in this developing story. Share your opinion in the comments section below.
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its a shame that once more this car mafia is still so powerful in PTI government that it has delayed the entry of electric vehicles in Pakistan. electric vehicles are not only good for Environment but they can drastically reduce the trade deficit as patrol demand will be reduced. so lot of benefits for the country.