World Bank keen on Rs 2,500-cr green resilient programme for Himachal: CM

Most departments will switch over to EVs by next year in the first phase, says CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a meeting with the World Bank team headed by John Roome, Regional Director (Sustainable Development), South Asia Region, on Monday discussed the state's Green agenda. He also dwelt on the measures to be adopted to achieve the target of 'Green Energy State' by 2025, with assistance from the global agency.

The World Bank indicated keenness in taking forward the Green Resilient Integrated Development programme for the state with Basin approach, at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore ($300 million), which may be enhanced further, depending on the technical analysis.

The visit of the team was a landmark event for the state's transformation into a 'Green Resilient Himachal', Sukhu said.

"As a step towards achieving the target, the state has fixed a time-bound action plan to install 200 Mw of solar power energy projects within the next nine months. The state will acquire more land for the installation of 500 Mw by the end of 2024," said the Chief Minister.

The shift towards electric vehicles in the state is of utmost priority and Himachal Pradesh looks forward to a generous contribution and to the launch of key programmes by the World Bank for this purpose, Sukhu said. He added that most of the departments would switch over to EVs by next year, as part of the first phase.

Sukhu also said that the state is set to go ahead with the 'National Green Hydrogen Energy Mission' in a big way, apart from producing the fuel. Though the technology for producing green hydrogen is expensive, the government will consult Indian Oil Corporation on the matter, as IOC has taken the first significant step towards the green hydrogen economy in India, with the commissioning of the country's first pure green hydrogen pilot plant in the Northeast.

The government is committed to making Himachal India' first non-polluted state by reducing carbon emissions completely, claimed the Chief Minister.

Roome said the EV policy envisioned by the Chief Minister would be taken up on priority and that a team from the Bank would visit the state for technical analysis soon.

Discussions about the future plan of action by the World Bank in the implementation of various programmes in Himachal were also held. These programmes included focus on sustainable forest management, community forestry, ecosystem services, and disaster management along the basins, water resource management, mature-based tourism and payment for ecosystem services. The World Bank agreed to support the implementation of these projects.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sanjay Awasthi, Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena and other senior officers attended the meeting.