Even though the government has made the necessary legal decisions, professional transformation has not yet been possible due to the lack of clear standards and procedures.
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The issue of converting diesel and petrol-powered vehicles to electric vehicles has once again come under discussion.
The issue has come under discussion again after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Sunday decided to make the necessary legal arrangements to convert diesel and petrol vehicles to electric vehicles.
But it is not that there is no legal arrangement in the country to convert vehicles from fuel to electricity. Despite the existence of legal arrangements, this issue has not been implemented due to the lack of standards and procedures.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has issued a notification in the Gazette on 15 Mangsir 2082 stating that a three-year exemption will be given to vehicles whose fuel system is modified to be environmentally friendly or energy efficient.
The government has issued a notice stating that it has decided to exempt vehicles whose fuel system is modified to be environmentally friendly or energy efficient by exercising the powers conferred by Section 176 of the Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 2049, for a period of three years, and that the restrictive clause of Section 39, Sub-section (2) of the same act will not apply.
This is not the first time that the legal provision for conversion has come into being. Earlier, on 14 Chaitra 2078, the government had adopted a policy of converting petroleum vehicles into electric vehicles. Based on these government notices, some entrepreneurs have converted but are forced to keep their vehicles in the workshop due to lack of approval. The entrepreneurs had initiated the process of obtaining approval from the Department of Transport Management or the concerned Transport Management Office for the conversion as per the notice issued by the government. However, the Transport Office has not been able to give approval as per the government's policy of converting petroleum vehicles into electric vehicles. They say that the government has not been able to give approval because it has not developed the criteria for converting vehicles, including the blue book, vehicle registration and numbering, and has not been able to do so. Sub-section 1 of Section 39 of the Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 2049 BS prohibits modification of vehicles in the form of changes in the color, number of seats, shape, engine or chassis of the vehicle. However, in the same Sub-section 2, it is mentioned that if a modification is required under Sub-section (1), the authorized officer may request approval and give approval after necessary investigation and if he/she deems it appropriate to make such modification.
The government has also brought a policy to convert petroleum vehicles into electric vehicles by exercising the authority of Section 176 of the Act. Section 176 of the Act states that the Government of Nepal may grant exemptions so that no provision of this Act shall be applicable to any vehicle for a specified period, notwithstanding anything written elsewhere in the Act.
The founder and CEO of the Engineering Workshop, Abhishek Karki, said that the procedure and criteria for conversion have not been formulated and that it has not been implemented. "There was a notice in the Gazette allowing conversion earlier, but it was limited to the notice as other criteria could not be met," he said. "We had also converted tractors and elephant carriages. But we could not take them on the road due to lack of government approval." Karki said that although the standards should have been brought including registration of the conversion company, permission for the company bringing the conversion goods, and what to do in the blue book after conversion, they have not been brought yet. Karki said that only after allowing the converted vehicles to run on the road will it be known whether they are successful or unsuccessful. The government should bring 6,400 electric vehicles in eight months, and he said that the next government can implement them, saying that the government should bring standards for conversion that are technically and financially viable. Krishnaraj Pantha, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Transport, said that the legally stalled conversion has been opened by issuing a notice. ‘The government had legally blocked the conversion, so we have opened it using the power of the act,’ said Pantha.
He says there is no problem in implementing the decision made by the Council of Ministers on Sunday. Pantha said that since the legal arrangements have been made, now the implementation can be started after discussing with the businessmen. ‘Now we are discussing with the businessmen about bringing in procedures or standards, so we will move towards implementation soon,’ he said.
