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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Remove e-rickshaws from Delhi roads for now: HC
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Remove e-rickshaws from Delhi roads for now: HC

Battery operated three-wheelers are a hazard on roads, Delhi high court says

The court also took note of news reports that a three-year-old boy died and his mother was injured in Delhi on Wednesday as a result of an accident involving an e-rickshaw. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
The court also took note of news reports that a three-year-old boy died and his mother was injured in Delhi on Wednesday as a result of an accident involving an e-rickshaw. Photo: Hindustan Times

New Delhi: Battery operated three-wheelers, also known as e-rickshaws, are a hazard on roads, the Delhi high court said on Thursday, asking the government to stop them from plying in the capital.

The court’s directive will pose problems for the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, which has promised that they will not be deemed illegal. “E-rickshaws having motor till 650W will now be regarded as non-motorized vehicles. Now, the transport department and traffic police can not challan (impose fines) them from tomorrow," transport minister Nitin Gadkari had told a rally of e-rickshaw drivers and owners in Ramlila Maidan on 17 June.

The Delhi state assembly has been in suspended animation since 14 February when the minority government of Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal resigned after 49 days in power. The drivers and owners of e-rickshaws are considered a key constituency of the upstart AAP, which has demanded the holding of assembly elections.

The previous United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre had declared e-rickshaws illegal in a 24 April notification. All vehicles powered by a motor, which includes battery powered three-wheelers, are regulated by the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

The transport ministry floated a cabinet note to remove e-rickshaws from the purview of the motor vehicles law after the NDA formed a new national government. There are around 70,000 battery-operated rickshaws plying on the roads of Delhi.

The AAP reiterated its support for e-rickshaw drivers. “The Aam Aadmi Party has said e-rickshaw drivers should not be denied their livelihoods due to the faults of the government. E-rickshaws should be regulated under clear guidelines, but these should not be made scapegoats for the mistakes of others," the party said in a statement. It also organized a rally on Thursday for autorickshaw drivers of Delhi.

The high court’s ruling came on a 2 September petition by social worker Shanawaz Khan that sought to stop the operation of e-rickshaws in public interest. The petitioner had argued that e-rickshaws had no accountability since they operated without any licence, token or registration with any authority. The petitioner had also requested the court to set a cap on the number of passengers to ensure their safety.

“The government is a silent spectator and, instead of taking action in the matter, the minister (Gadkari) is encouraging illegal work on the road and this is a serious matter," said Sugriva Dubey, a lawyer representing Khan.​

The court will again hear the matter on 14 August.

An expert said these battery operated vehicles should be regulated.

“The attempt to raise the battery powered so-called e-rickshaws to 650 Watts and thereby taking them out of the ambit of Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seems to be a clever ploy to make it a non-motorized vehicle is nothing but an attempt to focus on business benefits at the expense of safe vehicle and road safety," said S.P. Singh, senior fellow at Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training, a Delhi-based research firm. “The government of India should reconsider its intent to retrospectively regulate unsafe e-rickshaws and they are removed from Delhi roads by strict enforcement action by the traffic police and transport department."

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Published: 31 Jul 2014, 02:14 PM IST
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