E-scooter fires: Govt orders forensic probe; to take action after report

Gadkari also said that as on March 25, as many as 10,76,420 EVs were registered in the country and 1,742 public charging stations (PCS) were operational

The government has taken very seriously the four incidents of fire in two-wheeler electric vehicles (EVs) in the past one week and will take appropriate action against the manufacturers after a forensic investigation, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Lok Sabha on Thursday.

He also said that as on March 25, as many as 10,76,420 EVs were registered in the country and 1,742 public charging stations (PCS) were operational.

"A total of four incidents of fire in two-wheeler EVs have been reported in the past one week and this is a very serious issue. We have ordered a forensic investigation into each of the individual events from experts of Centre for Fire Explosive, DRDO and IISc, Bengaluru," he said during Question Hour.

The minister said India's standards for approval of EV and batteries are apt with the global standards and the government will take appropriate action after the exact technical reason behind the accidents is known.

"We are waiting for the report from the expert committee. After receiving the report, we will find out exactly what is the reason behind that. On the basis of that report, we will take appropriate action against the manufacturer," he said.

However, he said, he felt that the apparent reason for these incidents was high temperature.

"We are still waiting for the report of the expert committee. After we receive the report of the expert committee, we will take appropriate action. We will also take sufficient measures for the safety of the people," he said.

Replying another supplementary, Gadkari said the central government is fully committed to the Paris accord on environment and protection of ecology and environment.

He said the government has proposes to provide 650 roadside amenities on national highways out of which, work on 40 of them have already started.