It’s smaller than an auto-rickshaw, but can seat more people. It costs the same as riding in a cycle rickshaws, but it moves faster. It is perfect for distances that are too far to walk but short enough that an auto will refuse to go. And it’s also illegal – but not for long.
Meet the e-rickshaw.
This three-wheeled battery-operated vehicle, which competes with both auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws for passengers, began to appear in significant numbers in the Capital about two years ago. But regulations about it are still unclear, the e-rickshaw has turned into a major political vehicle, as the Delhi police began impounding vehicles this week for not conforming to the Motor Vehicle Act. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have all sought to win the support of Delhi's estimated over one lakh e-rickshaw drivers ahead of assembly elections in Delhi later this year.
On Monday, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal visited the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung to ask him to ensure that e-rickshaw drivers will not be ticketed and their vehicles will not be impounded until there is a clear policy that deals with them. The Congress also told the Lt Governor that the AAP would start an agitation if the police continued to impound e-rickshaws.
The following day, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, went a step further: he promised that the e-rickshaws would be kept out of the purview of the Motor Vehicle Act and that the government would provide cheap credit to people plying them – meaning that e-rickshaws are now set to be officially acknowledged means of public transport, finding their place alongside autos and cycle rickshaws across the country.
Policy Muddle
Until April, it was unclear what official vehicle category e-rickshaws actually fell under. Vehicles with motor power of less than 250 watts that travel at less than 25 km per hour are regarded as non-motorised vehicles that don’t need to be registered with the Transport Department. However, a study by The Energy and Resources Institute found that though most of Delhi's e-rickshaws have engines of between 650 watts and 1,000 watts, they still went unregistered.
The matter had gone back and forth between the Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Centre, with the Delhi High Court even rapping the state for failing to figure out a specific policy for the e-rickshaws.
On April 24, however, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways amended the rules to insist that the exemption on registration would only apply to two-wheeler battery-operated vehicles, which meant all three-wheelers – including e-rickshaws – were rendered illegal. As per the rules, this means all manufacturers and suppliers to get “type approval” for them as motor vehicles. As a consequence, Delhi Traffic Police had begun impounding e-rickshaws with plans to launch a full crackdown over the coming weeks.
Political Pull
However, just because they were illegal, that didn’t mean the men who own and operate the vehicles were unorganised. The Delhi government’s proposed crackdown on e-rickshaws has sent political ripples through the Capital, which is expected to go to assembly polls later this year. During the last elections in December, the needs of auto-rickshaw drivers had turned into a major political issue, with the Aam Aadmi Party successfully leveraging their disaffection with the government into working-class votes.
AAP's Kejriwal is now trying to take the lead on e-rickshaws as well. On Monday, Kejriwal asked the Delhi Lt Governor to stop ticketing e-rickshaw drivers. “There are almost two lakh e-rickshaws plying in Delhi. If these are declared illegal, it would render two lakh people unemployed,” Kejriwal said in his memo to Jung, pointing out that the matter is also in the High Court. “I would sincerely urge that challan and impounding of vehicles may immediately be stopped till the pendency of this case.”
The Congress, meanwhile, tried to take credit for introducing e-rickshaws to the Capital and promised to protest on their behalf. “If these battery-operated rickshaws are removed from roads, Congress leaders and workers will start an agitation,” Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Mukesh Sharma said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is expecting to win a majority in upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, was not to be left behind. Even though the notification that made e-rickshaws illegal came from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the current minister who holds that deputation – Nitin Gadkari – was the chief guest at a rally organised by e-rickshaw organisation on Tuesday.
Gadkari told the crowd that the BJP would move to legalise the e-rickshaws without requiring them to get a motor vehicle licence. Vehicles of under 650 watts will be required to enforce a four-passenger restriction, limit the weight of the goods they transport to 50 kilos and to register with the Transport Department, but will not have to conform to motor vehicle regulations. E-rickshaws will even be included in a government scheme – the Deen Dayal e-Rickshaw Yojana to provide them with easy credit.
“Those of you who have such vehicles under 650 watts, now they cannot be troubled by the police,” Gadkari told the crowd. “I wrote a letter to the finance minister and the prime minister asking them to ensure that e-rickshaw drivers should have access to credit at just 3% interest…this Deen Dayal e-Rickshaw Yojana will give jobs to two crore people across India.”
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Meet the e-rickshaw.
This three-wheeled battery-operated vehicle, which competes with both auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws for passengers, began to appear in significant numbers in the Capital about two years ago. But regulations about it are still unclear, the e-rickshaw has turned into a major political vehicle, as the Delhi police began impounding vehicles this week for not conforming to the Motor Vehicle Act. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have all sought to win the support of Delhi's estimated over one lakh e-rickshaw drivers ahead of assembly elections in Delhi later this year.
On Monday, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal visited the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung to ask him to ensure that e-rickshaw drivers will not be ticketed and their vehicles will not be impounded until there is a clear policy that deals with them. The Congress also told the Lt Governor that the AAP would start an agitation if the police continued to impound e-rickshaws.
The following day, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, went a step further: he promised that the e-rickshaws would be kept out of the purview of the Motor Vehicle Act and that the government would provide cheap credit to people plying them – meaning that e-rickshaws are now set to be officially acknowledged means of public transport, finding their place alongside autos and cycle rickshaws across the country.
Policy Muddle
Until April, it was unclear what official vehicle category e-rickshaws actually fell under. Vehicles with motor power of less than 250 watts that travel at less than 25 km per hour are regarded as non-motorised vehicles that don’t need to be registered with the Transport Department. However, a study by The Energy and Resources Institute found that though most of Delhi's e-rickshaws have engines of between 650 watts and 1,000 watts, they still went unregistered.
The matter had gone back and forth between the Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Centre, with the Delhi High Court even rapping the state for failing to figure out a specific policy for the e-rickshaws.
On April 24, however, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways amended the rules to insist that the exemption on registration would only apply to two-wheeler battery-operated vehicles, which meant all three-wheelers – including e-rickshaws – were rendered illegal. As per the rules, this means all manufacturers and suppliers to get “type approval” for them as motor vehicles. As a consequence, Delhi Traffic Police had begun impounding e-rickshaws with plans to launch a full crackdown over the coming weeks.
Political Pull
However, just because they were illegal, that didn’t mean the men who own and operate the vehicles were unorganised. The Delhi government’s proposed crackdown on e-rickshaws has sent political ripples through the Capital, which is expected to go to assembly polls later this year. During the last elections in December, the needs of auto-rickshaw drivers had turned into a major political issue, with the Aam Aadmi Party successfully leveraging their disaffection with the government into working-class votes.
AAP's Kejriwal is now trying to take the lead on e-rickshaws as well. On Monday, Kejriwal asked the Delhi Lt Governor to stop ticketing e-rickshaw drivers. “There are almost two lakh e-rickshaws plying in Delhi. If these are declared illegal, it would render two lakh people unemployed,” Kejriwal said in his memo to Jung, pointing out that the matter is also in the High Court. “I would sincerely urge that challan and impounding of vehicles may immediately be stopped till the pendency of this case.”
The Congress, meanwhile, tried to take credit for introducing e-rickshaws to the Capital and promised to protest on their behalf. “If these battery-operated rickshaws are removed from roads, Congress leaders and workers will start an agitation,” Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Mukesh Sharma said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is expecting to win a majority in upcoming Delhi Assembly polls, was not to be left behind. Even though the notification that made e-rickshaws illegal came from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the current minister who holds that deputation – Nitin Gadkari – was the chief guest at a rally organised by e-rickshaw organisation on Tuesday.
Gadkari told the crowd that the BJP would move to legalise the e-rickshaws without requiring them to get a motor vehicle licence. Vehicles of under 650 watts will be required to enforce a four-passenger restriction, limit the weight of the goods they transport to 50 kilos and to register with the Transport Department, but will not have to conform to motor vehicle regulations. E-rickshaws will even be included in a government scheme – the Deen Dayal e-Rickshaw Yojana to provide them with easy credit.
“Those of you who have such vehicles under 650 watts, now they cannot be troubled by the police,” Gadkari told the crowd. “I wrote a letter to the finance minister and the prime minister asking them to ensure that e-rickshaw drivers should have access to credit at just 3% interest…this Deen Dayal e-Rickshaw Yojana will give jobs to two crore people across India.”