Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said his ministry is finalising a policy for use of municipal waste in road construction.
He said that a draft policy has been formulated that will promote use of alternative fuel in construction equipment to reduce cost and dependence on fossil fuels.
“Incentives like interest subvention scheme can be worked out so that concessionaires or contractors can invest in construction equipment running on alternate fuels instead of fossil fuels,” the minister said.
He said his ministry has taken several initiatives to decarbonise the transport sector and that the government is working on developing electric highways between Delhi and Jaipur.
Electric highways cater to electric traction for vehicles in the same manner as is done for railways.
Talking about the alternate bio fuels in the country, the Minister said he has been a strong proponent of creating an ethanol economy and has been pushing for large-scale uptake of ethanol to boost agricultural growth by 6 per cent.
He said that by 2025, there will be a mandate to use 1 per cent sustainable aviation fuel with prospective plans to escalate it to 5 per cent blending in India. He added that hydrogen is the fuel for the future and the most important way through which India can become a net exporter of energy.
