Two lithium battery manufacturing plants will be set up in Karnataka with the objective of promoting e-vehicles and reducing air pollution, said Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana.

Speaking after launching an e-vehicle rally organised by the Rotary Club at the east gate of Vidhana Soudha, Narayana informed, out of the two units, one will be established in the Hubballi region and another will be set up near Chikkaballapura.

“The state is preparing an exemplary energy policy. The state has implemented the e-vehicle policy in 2018 itself, for the first time in the country. Discount has been given to the consumers and Rs 5 per unit is being charged in place of Rs 9 per unit, which is the rate of electricity for commercial usage,” said Narayana.

“The days are not far when the manufacturers will be producing the vehicles without fuel tanks/batteries. The consumers can avail the pre-charged batteries on a hiring basis and to facilitate this ‘battery banks’ will be set up all across the state and they work in a similar fashion as that of petrol bunks. This will also make e-vehicles much cheaper,” he added.

The “e-vehicle” manufacturing sector is growing at a rapid pace and this may result in the extinction of petrol/diesel driven vehicles in the next 10 years, Narayana stated.

“The state government is boosting this sector and BESCOM has been made to work as the nodal agency for establishing more charging stations. BESCOM has already set up 150 charging stations and has been collaborated with NTPC to establish another 150 such stations,” he added.