There is no respite in sight for the e-rickshaw drivers against the blanket ban imposed by the Delhi High Court. The policy for regulation of the battery-operated vehicles is unlikely to be framed before three months time and only a court order can allow the e-rickshaws to ply on the roads again. Senior officials of the municipal corporations in Delhi said the civic bodies are yet to get the Centre’s nod for framing the policy. Apart from the policy, allotment of land for parking of e-rickshaws and setting up of charging stations for them is the contentious issue that could delay the process, officials said.
However, the ruling BJP in the corporations said an ordinance in this regard was expected within two weeks following which the civic bodies could go ahead with framing of the e-rickshaw policy. “The ordinance for regulation of e-rickshaws will take nearly 15 days. The three civic bodies have been asked to prepare the policy at the earliest. We are exploring all options to help out the e-rickshaw drivers. We can also approach the Supreme Court challenging the ban imposed by the Delhi High Court,” said Satish Upadhyay, Delhi BJP president and Chairman of the Standing Committee in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). He promised that the e-rickshaws will not be removed from Delhi’s roads.
Meanwhile, a senior official of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) said the civic bodies will have to make arrangements for issuing registration number to these vehicles and collecting the registration fee for the same. The permit seekers would be required to obtain a valid driving licence. “Preparing the policy making will not consume much time. But the biggest hurdle for the civic bodies will be allotment of land for parking and halting of e-rickshaws besides the space required for charging the batteries. Despite the Centre’s direction for framing of the policy, the process will not be completed before October end,” said the official. He said
once the policy is prepared, it will be vetted by the law Department and later approved by the House.The Centre had recently exempted the battery-operated e-rickshaws from the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) and thus, bringing these vehicles into the subject list of State Governments.A recent advisory issues by the Centre said, “As a consequence of the amendment, three-wheeled electric motor propelled vehicles with engine capacity less than or equal to 650 watt are now covered under State list, on which State Governments have powers to make law.”.
The advisory asked the states to accordingly draw a policy for operation of such e-rickshaws and registration of their drivers by a local body with an undertaking that he will comply with the traffic rules.
It is noteworthy that the civic bodies in Delhi have already said that the e-rickshaws in Delhi will have to follow traffic norms and that the Delhi Traffic Police will be authorised to prosecute them in case of violation, including seizure of the vehicles.