The municipal corporations in Delhi have come up with a fail-safe policy for e-rickshaws to prevent them from going berserk on the city roads. While the civic bodies have prescribed easy norms for obtaining licence; it would be mandatory for the battery-operated three-wheelers to abide by the traffic rules failing which they will be liable for prosecution or even seizure of the vehicles.
The draft policy on e-rickshaws accessed by The Pioneer says the Delhi Traffic Police or any other agency as authorised by the municipal corporations can prosecute the errant drivers. “The battery rickshaws will have to follow traffic signals and abide by traffic rules laid down by the Central Government or the instructions issued by any police officer regulating the traffic in a particular area. In violation of the rules, the drivers shall be liable for prosecution,” the draft policy read. A senior official, however, said the amount of penalty is yet to be determined.
With congestion due to haphazard parking of rickshaws being another area of concern, the three municipal corporations would identify locations within their territories for parking and halting of these three-wheelers. Parking of rickshaws at place other than the designated locations would also amount to violation of rules. The draft policy lays great emphasis on public safety with regard to the run of e-rickshaws on the roads. To avoid over-speeding, the battery rickshaws will compulsorily be fitted with speed governors that would restrict their maximum speed to 15 km per hour.
“The maximum speed limit for e-rickshaws has been fixed at 15 km per hour. The speed governors fitted with the rickshaws will ensure they do not exceed the speed limit. Further, the e-rickshaws can only carry four passengers at a time,” the policy proposes. The e-rickshaws will only be allowed to ply within the jurisdiction of concerned municipal corporations.
As per the policy, the civic bodies will also keep a check on fitness of the vehicles. It has been made mandatory for the rickshaw owners to obtain a fitness certificate from the concerned registering authority. The fitness certificate will be valid for two years and has to be renewed one month before expiry of the same. The policy also makes it mandatory to have the facility for charging battery in e-rickshaws certified by TSECl.
As proposed, the civic bodies will form a six-member board for issuing registration certificate (RC) and driving licence to the owners; the minimum age limit for which has been fixed at 20 years. The board will be headed by the Municipal Commissioner of the respective civic bodies. To ensure uniformity across Delhi, the policy has been framed collectively by the three corporations. The Centre had last month legalised the operation of e-rickshaws in the Capital and asked the municipal bodies to frame a policy in this regard.