Bhubaneswar, Sept. 21: The civic body has organised a stakeholders' workshop to discuss the roadmap to effectively implement the ambitious 'City E-Vehicle Policy' here.

The workshop was attended by the e-vehicle manufacturers who showed their concern and challenges in creating an electric vehicle ecosystem. They felt that hurdles would come in the form of costly battery, lack of charging infrastructure in the city and difficulty in obtaining finance for these vehicles.

'Creating a system for implementation of the e-vehicle policy will be a major challenge in the city. There is a need for adequate infrastructure else less will opt for the vehicles. There is a need to create the infrastructure first and then think of introducing the policy,' said a participant.

Some of the measures suggested by the stakeholders included identification of routes for electric rickshaws to operate, business models for setting up the battery charging infrastructure, subsidised electricity tariff for charging vehicles and convenient licensing procedures.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the workshop aimed to identify recommendations to promote electric vehicles in Bhubaneswar. 'We got the inputs from the stakeholders and will incorporate the same while developing the infrastructure of the city for effective implementation of the policy,' said Jena.

The city administration mooted the plan of implementing the e-vehicle policy in the city in July. They planned to collaborate with the International Finance Corporation, a wing of World Bank, for formulation and implementation of the new policy.

The policy aimed at bringing in a balance in the eco-system of the city. 'Increase in the number of motor vehicles is contributing to air pollution, which needs to be kept in check with such eco-friendly policies. It should be implemented in a proper manner so that more and more people opt for it,' said environmentalist Sailabala Padhi.

Sources said after the incorporation of the inputs, the policy would be implemented on a pilot basis at the proposed Bhubaneswar Town Centre District. 'We have decided to develop infrastructure on a certain stretch and will expand the same based on the demand of the people,' said a civic official.