July 13, Colombo: The Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal submitted by the Minister of Environment to prepare a strategic plan for promoting the use of electric vehicles in Sri Lanka.

According to the Department of Motor Traffic, the number of motor vehicles that have been registered by the end of the year 2020 has exceeded 8 million.

A considerable portion of those vehicles are older than 10 years and it has been identified that lack of proper maintenance of such old vehicles lead to poisonous gas emissions, a statement on cabinet decisions said.

It has been confirmed by several researches carried out by the University of Moratuwa with a few other institutions that 60% of air pollution in Sri Lanka is caused by vehicular emissions.

Attention has been drawn to utilize renewable energy even for vehicular operations since, immediate implementation of renewable energy projects is one of the foremost actions the Government has to be taken.

Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Environment to prepare a strategic plan for promoting the use of electric vehicles in Sn Lanka.