Gadkari vows to notify e-rickshaws soon

With Delhi High Court continuing ban on plying of e-rickshaws in national capital, Nitin Gadkari, union minister of road transport and highways (MoRTH) is all set to notify the battery-operated vehicle in a new motor vehicles act.

While announcing the achievements of his ministry in the 100 days of Modi government, Gadkari said, ‘A notification pertaining to e-rickshaw has been issued. We will put it on website and seek opinion of peoples on it in the next ten days and will solve the problem immediately thereafter. We will issue (final) notification for plying of e-rickshaws after 10 days.’

While replying to a question on safety issues over which e-rickshaws have been banned by Delhi HC, Gadkari said that safety and other concerns have been taken care of and necessary steps were on for allowing e-rickshaws with necessary modifications in rules and law. The minister further added that he was pained that thousands of poor people were deprived of their livelihood due to ban on e-rickshaw but now the issue will be solved.

The changes that MoRTH wants to bring into the new motor vehicles act to ‘accommodate’ e-rickshaws mention that such vehicle is constructed or adapted to carry not more than four passengers, excluding the driver, and not more than 40 kgs luggage in total; the power of its motor is not more than 200W and the maximum speed of the vehicle is not more than 25 km per hour. 

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal along with a delegation of e-rickshaw drivers will meet union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday at his transport bhawan office.