Last-mile connectivity: EPCA directs DMRC to prepare framework for e-autos

New Delhi: As the DMRC looks to get Supreme Court approval for 15,000 e-autos for last-mile connectivity from metro stations, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) on Monday directed all agencies involved in the process to prepare a framework explaining how the batteries will be recharged and the dead ones disposed off and what the e-autos will charge from commuters.

This direction from the Supreme Court-mandated panel came after the Supreme Court, which had earlier capped the number of auto rickshaws at one lakh, asked the panel to examine the issue and submit a report. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had earlier filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, seeking approval for the registration of 15,000 e-auto rickshaws to provide last-mile connectivity from all 184 metro stations in the national capital.

"We do not want the metro travel becomes costly due to this. An auto rickshaw charges Rs 25 for the first 1.5 kilometers and Rs 9.5 per kilometer thereafter. Whether these rates will also apply to e-autos... and how to ensure that these battery-operated autos don't transgress their areas," EPCA chairman Bhure Lal said. EPCA member Sunita Narain also stressed the need for a centralised e-auto monitoring station. A DMRC official who attended the meeting said that provisions can be made to address the issues raised by the EPCA, including a centralised monitoring room set up on Delhi Metro premises.

An official of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways told EPCA that e-auto rickshaws are "beyond the cap on the number of autos in the national capital fixed by the Supreme Court". The ministry had issued a notification on October 18 last year, removing the requirement for permits for battery-operated vehicles. "If the Supreme Court says the cap is not applicable for e-auto rickshaws, the entire issue is sorted out," the ministry official asserted.