Electric autos will hit Delhi’s roads starting today; personally handed over RCs to 20 auto drivers, including women: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Government is aggressively fighting pollution; thousands of e-autos will be seen on Delhi’s roads in the near future: CM Arvind Kejriwal
A matter of great pride for Delhi that with launch of e-autos, 3,500 families including 500 women will now have a livelihood: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi Government’s highly progressive EV Policy is being praised all over the country; Delhi is now considered the EV Capital of India: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Within the first year of the implementation of the EV Policy, electric vehicles accounted for around 10 percent of the total vehicle sales: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Over the past five years, more than 45 thousand people have received employment as a result of Delhi’s EV policy: CM Arvind Kejriwal
Subsidy of Rs 30,000 per e-auto and 5 percent rebate on loan rates have been ensured: Kailash Gahlot
Delhi provides the cheapest electric vehicle charging facility throughout India: Kailash Gahlot
We are in talks with the DMRC; will ensure charging facilities available at every metro station very soon: Kailash Gahlot
Kejriwal Government has taken numerous steps to empower women and provide them with employment opportunities: Kailash Gahlot
Complete waiver of licence fee; height restriction reduced; and women can now drive DTC or cluster buses after completing one month of training, instead of three years: Kailash Gahlot
NEW DELHI:
Marking the dawn of Delhi, EV era, Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal flagged off electric autos at the IP Depot today, and said that Delhi will soon have the highest number of e-autos in the country. The Chief Minister further stated – Electric autos have hit Delhi’s roads starting today. I personally handed over RCs to 20 auto drivers, including women. Our Delhi is aggressively fighting pollution, and in this direction, thousands of e-autos will be seen on Delhi’s roads in the near future. With the launch of e-auto, 3,500 drivers’ families will now have a livelihood, which includes 500 women – a matter of great pride for Delhi. Delhi Government’s highly progressive EV Policy is being praised all over the country, and Delhi is now considered the EV Capital of India. Within the first year of the implementation of the EV Policy, electric vehicles accounted for around 10 percent of the total vehicle sales. Over the past five years, over 45 thousand people have received employment as a result of Delhi’s EV policy. Transport Minister Shri Kailash Gahlot further added – A subsidy of Rs 30,000 per e-auto will be given and a 5 percent rebate on loan rates has been ensured. Delhi is the only place to provide the cheapest electric vehicle charging facility. We are in talks with the DMRC and we will ensure that charging facilities are made available at every metro station very soon. The Kejriwal Government has taken numerous steps to empower women and provide them with employment opportunities – with a complete waiver of licence fee; reduction in height restriction, and permit for women to now drive DTC or cluster buses after completing one month of training, instead of three years.
Blue and Lilac electric autos have started running on the roads of Delhi from today. A ceremony was organised at IP Depot today to flag off these e-autos. Chief Guest, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal initiated the program by cutting the ribbon and flagged off all the e-autos. During this event, dignitaries including Transport Minister Shri Kailash Gahlot, DDC Vice Chairperson Shri Jasmine Shah and senior officials of the Transport Department were present. Before flagging off the autos, the CM personally inspected every new auto and understood what benefit the consumers would get from these. He went ahead to sit in the auto of a female driver and asked her to drive the vehicle around to assess whether women drivers will be comfortable driving the new e-autos. He later called the lady driver to the stage and appreciated her for her driving skills in front of the public.
CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal flagged off electric autos at the IP Depot and said, “Today is a very important and delightful day for all Delhi residents. For the first time, electric autos are being launched in our state, which is a matter of great pride for the people of Delhi. The blue-coloured autos which were flagged off will begin to operate for public use on Delhi’s roads starting today. Keeping the situation of pollution in Delhi in mind, we are gradually initiating a paradigm shift in vehicles from fuel-based to electric ones. In this direction, these electric autos have been introduced, which will now regularly operate throughout Delhi. As a symbolic gesture, some of the men and women driving these e-autos were handed their official documents. The expression of bliss on their faces was truly heartwarming. They were extremely delighted to be receiving their papers, and the responsibility to run these autos.”
He continued, “On one hand, a number of people are getting employment as a result of this initiative. Today, a quota of some 3,000-4,000 e-auto drivers has been released. 3,500 have been issued their LoI’s today, and they will now be able to operate e-autos on Delhi’s roads from now. As a result of this, 3,500 families will now have a livelihood, and Delhi will now have a large fleet of e-autos available for public use. On this exciting occasion, I congratulate all 3,500 of our new employees, out of which 500 are women. I believe this is a matter of great pride that we have so many women operating e-autos to support their families. Initially, there had been a doubt in my mind regarding the safety of women driving these autos. I spoke to one Sunita Chaudhary, who has been driving autos since 2003 – it has been 19 years since she has been doing this and she reassured me that it is not a matter of concern, and that she feels completely safe driving on her own. I hence especially congratulate all the women who have received their e-autos today.”
He added, “The EV Policy that the Delhi Government has created is a highly progressive one, and it is being praised all over the country. Now Delhi is considered as the EV Capital of India. We used to think that this transition from fuel-based to electric vehicles would take time for people to adjust to, but the pace at which this shift has taken place and people in Delhi have begun purchasing electric vehicles is highly impressive. Within the first year of the implementation of the EV Policy, electric vehicles accounted for around 10 percent of the total vehicle sales. This shows that there is a great amount of enthusiasm among Delhi’s public regarding this revolution in the transportation sector. It also proves that our EV Policy is a noble one, and its implementation is being received well.”
Elaborating on the system of e-autos, Transport Minister Shri Kailash Gahlot said, “We have developed a single-window system and partnered with DSL for the software. The purpose of this portal is the streamlining and efficient functioning of the application as well as loan issuing process – all one has to do to secure a loan is register on the portal, and all required formalities are fulfilled via this portal itself. The CM’s motto behind all our policy developments has been to always take into consideration the interests and convenience of the common public, so that they do not have to jump through hoops to take advantage of the Delhi Government’s progressive policies.”
He added, “A subsidy of Rs 30,000 is being provided on every e-auto by the Delhi Government. And there is an additional 5% rebate on loan rates. If one looks at our EV Policy, our goal is clearly stated that is to ensure at least one charging point is present within every 3 kilometre radius. For this, we have collaborated with Discoms. The cheapest available charging point for an EV is now present in Delhi, where you can avail the benefits at the minimal cost of Rs 2,000 for charging. One can also install a charging point in their homes. Moreover, we are in talks with the DMRC to have charging facilities available at every metro station. The Delhi Government’s initial tender for 300 election charging stations across the city has also been awarded to an agency, and the work on these will begin very soon.”
4,261 e-autos underway allotment process
The Transport Department has started the process of allotting 4,261 e-autos under its EV Policy 2020. For this, applications were invited through an online process in the months of October and November, 2022. A total of 19,846 applications were received from male applicants against the quota of 2,855 e-autos and 743 applications were received from female applicants against the quota of 1,406 e-autos.”
The plan was stopped due to a petition being filed in the court
The scheme was earlier put on hold due to a petition filed in the court, in which the Supreme Court had stayed the government’s decision to allow electric autos in place of CNG, with the limit of one lakh compulsory autos. At the same time, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the decision of the Delhi Government to introduce e-autos in place of CNG autos. Apart from this, the High Court also in another landmark judgement on February 11, 2022, allowed the Delhi government to resume the process of registration of 4,261 e-autos in the capital.
A computerised draw for allotment of 4,261 e-autos was conducted on 14 February 2022. The allotment process has been done in a fair and transparent manner. The list of successful applicants and rejected or defective applications has been displayed on the website of the Transport Department. At the same time, the Transport Department has so far issued 2,998 LOIs to the beneficiaries, including 548 women.
Applications of 93 women drivers came in the second round
In order to encourage more women drivers, it was decided to take fresh applications for the remaining e-autos reserved for them in February 2022. In this second round, 93 more women have applied and the process of issuance of LOI to eligible women applicants is underway. A total of 663 e-autos under women quota of 1,406 e-autos were allotted to DMRC on March 3, 2022 with permission to operate through an aggregator or operator. Also, a condition has been laid that e-autos will be operated only by women drivers posted by DMRC. E-autos driven by women have special blue-lilac colored autos to increase visibility and prevent misuse of the scheme by non-women applicants.
Autos can be driven only by the allottee
There will be a lock-in period of five years for e-auto permit holders on transfer. E-auto cannot be transferred till then except in case of death. The vehicle will be driven by LOI holders only and e-autos registered in the name of women LOI holders have a different colour. It has also been decided that after allotment in women quota, transfer of e-auto rickshaw will be permitted to only a woman auto driver subject to restrictions of five years.
LOI holders can buy e-autos through single window system
The Transport Department has also taken several measures to enable interested people to own or lease e-autos without any hassle. The LOI holder can purchase the e-auto from the authorised dealer through a single window system. For this, one can visit the web portal www.delhi.myev.org.in developed by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL). On the online portal, the dealer will act as a single window interface for booking, completing the registration formalities. LOI holders will get information about accepted e-auto models, prices and features, subsidy components, financing banks and NBFCs on a single platform. This web portal has been developed for easy access to loans, payment of EMIs, information regarding remaining loan and interest subvention claims. In addition, for the convenience of EV users and e-auto users, the department has developed a WhatsApp Chatbot, an interactive platform that will provide information on EV models, finances, EV dealers and nearby charging stations. Successful applicants will have to purchase TSR and submit by 30th April. One has to apply for registration on the single window portal of CESL before 2022.
At the same time, another progressive feature of allotment of e-autos has been that the LOI holder can have co-ownership with the Fleet Operator/Aggregator who can purchase the e-auto and enter into agreement with the willing LOI holder on terms and conditions as per mutual consent. The lease can be negotiated. This move will go a long way in providing instant access to e-autos owned and operated by the LOI holder in a more transparent and reliable manner without much financial burden. The move will free many e-auto owners from the clutches of unorganised creditors and financiers, who are increasingly playing the markets and operating undercover.