Field Reflections from the field: Exploring EV Pathways in Rural Maharashtra
Author: Snehal Yadav (Founders Office Associate, Special Projects)
December 13, 2025
Over the past weeks, Snehal Yadav and Avinash Dikhale traversed the villages of Sindhudurgh and Nashik, as part of the Harit Vriddhi Project’s expanding outreach across Maharashtra. Their mission was clear: to understand community readiness for electric vehicles and to explore the intersection of sustainable mobility with rural livelihoods.
What emerged from these conversations was a landscape of untapped potential. While traditional approaches to rural development often overlook emerging technologies, the communities demonstrated a distinct openness to exploring alternatives. Farmers and community members expressed keen interest in understanding how EV solutions could address their mobility challenges and complement their existing livelihood activities.
“On-ground outreach conducted across Sindhudurgh and Nashik under the Harit Vriddhi Project”
The meetings revealed a critical insight: rural communities are not waiting passively for change. Instead, they are actively seeking pathways to adopt technologies that promise practical benefits—whether through reduced operational costs, improved accessibility to markets, or diversified income opportunities.
Through these interactions, one central truth surfaced: communities are ready to shift, but they require enabling systems. The groundwork has reinforced what is becoming increasingly evident across the Harit Vriddhi initiative—that sustainable mobility transitions are not merely technological challenges, but deeply rooted social and economic imperatives that demand integrated solutions.
Through these interactions, one central truth surfaced: communities are ready to shift, but they require enabling systems. The groundwork has reinforced what is becoming increasingly evident across the Harit Vriddhi initiative—that sustainable mobility transitions are not merely technological challenges, but deeply rooted social and economic imperatives that demand integrated solutions.
As efforts to scale EV awareness continue across Maharashtra and beyond, the foundation laid in villages like Sindhudurgh and Eklahare serves as a reminder that innovation thrives when communities are heard, supported, and empowered to lead their own transformation.
“Communities don’t resist change—they anticipate it.”
