With over 20,000 e-rickshaws plying on Delhi roads, only two are formally registered — one under loni Authority and the other under Raja Garden Authority. While announcing a series of measures to regularise e-rickshaws in the national Capital, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai said that a comprehensive process has been laid out for the registration of battery-operated rickshaws, which were so far banned from plying on Delhi roads.
“The process has been laid out and two such vehicles have already been registered - one under loni authority and the other under Raja Garden authority. The Government had been constantly working on the challenge of bringing e-rickshaws on roads, and we have done our job,” Gopal Rai said, adding that efforts are now on to make e-rickshaw owners aware of the process of getting their vehicles registered. With only two vehicles formally registered, all others plying on Delhi roads are without valid permit.
Rai said that since most of the old assembled e-rickshaws are unapproved, except one model (B.R.S.-20) that has the approval from iCAT at Manesar, all such vehicles will have to be upgraded before they can be regularised. The Government has talked to Delhi Finance Corporation to provide financial assistance to the e-rickshaw owners for the same, said Rai.
“Since the vehicles have been off the roads for the last seven to eight months, most e-rickshaw owners don’t have the means to get the necessary upgrades required for registration. So we have talked to Delhi Finance Corporation, which has agreed to provide loans worth Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 to those who need it,” said Rai.
Rai claimed that the focus on e-rickshaws would not only be a step towards last mile connectivity, it will also provide a pollution-free alternative for the same. “Also, it will lead to battery-operated rickshaws replacing paddled ones which most countries have already discarded because of their inhumane nature where a man pulls another man’s weight,” said Rai. Meanwhile, the Government has started a drive to distribute pamphlets among e-rickshaw owners with complete guidelines for registering their vehicles.