To overcome the issue of multiple autorickshaws plying on the same permit and thus, posing safety concerns, the Transport Department of Delhi Government is in the process of formulating a policy for the replacement of autos in the National Capital.
Presently, in the absence of any such policy, the autos which have completed their lifespan of 15 years continue to ply on the roads illegally, posing grave risk to passengers. According to estimates, 75,000 autos in the city carry lakhs of passengers daily. New auto permits were issued after the Supreme Court lifted the cap on the number of autorickshaws in Delhi.
At present, the city does not have a policy to phase out the autorickshaws which have outlived their lifespan of 15 years. Due to this, though the vehicle is scrapped on records, many of them continue to ply in an illegal manner. “The lack of a policy offers enough opportunities to continue running their vehicles even after being condemned in official records. The policy to scrap autos, once formulated, will streamline the procedure to phase out the TSRs,” said a Delhi Government official.
Auto unions claimed that there are over 20,000 autos in Delhi which have completed 15 years. Rajender Soni, president, Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh, said, “Officially, an autorickshaw should be taken off the roads once it has completed 15 years of its operation. From 75,000 autos in the city at present, over 20,000 need to be scrapped. However, the Government has not formulated any policy as yet to phase out these old autos. In the lack of any formal policy, the autos which have completed their life cycle are left with no permit and no fitness certificate, thus, taking a toll on the bread and butter of owners. Also, the Government in the last two years has been able to issue only 21,000 fresh auto permits out of 45,000 which were supposed to hit city roads after the apex court’s ruling.”