Kejriwal to address rally of e-rickshaw drivers on Wed

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will address a rally of e-rickshaw drivers here on Wednesday to demand that rules allowing the plying of battery-powered vehicles in Delhi be simplified.

The former chief minister of Delhi will meet the the drivers at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday and also demand the removal of the ‘exorbitant fees’ for the registration of e-rickshaws.

‘Though the notification will allow the e-rickshaws to ply legally on Delhi roads, it is still incomplete and does not fully address the concerns of e-rickshaw drivers,’ the Aam Aadmi Party said in a statement here on Sunday.

‘Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari made very tall time-bound promises at the Ramlila Ground on 17 June, and promised the Moon to e-rickshaw drivers, but miserably failed to implement any of his promises for more than three months,’ it added.

The statement further said that there are various problems related to plying of e-rickshaws which the government notification did not address. 

‘There are a set of problems in the notification, which needs to be addressed at the earliest. The total cost of registration of one e-rickshaw will be around Rs five lakh, which is very high and unjust, it must be waived off’, the statement read. 

It further added that there must be a registered association to address the grievances of e-rickshaw drivers in future. ‘The individual drivers will have to run from pillar to post to get all legal clearances. There has to be a union to address these problems. The Delhi transport department must also be directed to hold special camps for giving necessary clearances’, it said. 

Last week, the government notified a separate category of battery-operated vehicles — e-rickshaw and e-cart, allowing them to ply in the city.

‘The transport ministry has now brought the e-rickshaws under the Motor Vehicles Act, despite Gadkari having publicly stated that those with motors up to 600 watts will be exempted from the MV Act. Was he ill-informed or was the announcement made to mislead the poor drivers,’ the statement said.