In Delhi’s electric push, blue, lilac e-autos to hit streets this April

It will not only be the first time the city sees e-autos formally inducted into its public transit network, but a significant number will also be driven by women, another first for the Capital.

State transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Friday handed the first set of ‘letters of intent’ (LOI) to the owners of Delhi’s first 20 e-autos, including 10 women, and said “thousands” of electric three-wheelers will soon flood the city’s streets, as part of the government’s push to promote electric vehicles.

Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

“Congratulations to all successful applicants who will soon be proud owners of Delhi’s first e-autos. We’re taking a huge leap not just in reducing pollution and ensuring last-mile connectivity, but also in establishing a strong female presence in Delhi’s public transport system. I strongly urge only the women in whose name the e-auto is registered, to drive the autos, since we will strictly enforce the same,” said Gahlot.

In a departure from the usual CNG-fuelled green and yellow auto-rickshaws, Delhi, in the next two months, will have thousands of blue- and lilac-coloured electric autos. It will not only be the first time the city sees e-autos formally inducted into its public transit network, but a significant number will also be driven by women, another first for the Capital. These will be in addition to over a hundred blue electric buses that will be added to the city’s fleet in the next two months.

HT on July 21 last year first reported the Delhi government’s plan to reserve at least 4,000 fresh permits exclusively for electric auto-rickshaws in the city. The city currently has 95,000 registered auto-rickshaws, all of which run on CNG. There is a cap of 100,000 on registered autos in Delhi.

On September 22, HT reported the Delhi government’s decision to reserve around 33% (1,406) of the 4,261 e-auto permits for women.

The state transport department on Monday held a computerised draw of lots for the e-auto permits.

“We’ve simplified the entire process of owning an e-auto by enabling a single-window interfaces and allowing co-ownership with fleet aggregators too,” Gahlot said.

Over 20,500 applied for e-auto permits, and the list of the 2,855 successful male and 743 female applicants have been put up on the state transport department’s website.

The first list of selected applicants along with the deficiencies identified have also been put up in the website so that these can be rectified and considered, a senior transport official said.

In a move to promote the entry of more women drivers in Delhi, the applications for 663 remaining applicants among the 1,406 e-autos reserved for women candidates have also been reopened and the details have also been uploaded on the website.

In case a slot for a women driver remains empty, the LOI for the remaining e-autos from the quota will be allotted to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), with permission to operate these e-autos through an aggregator or operator. They must only be driven by women deployed by the Metro body for last-mile connectivity, said officials aware of the matter.

“It was also decided that post allotment in the woman quota, transfer of e-auto rickshaw should be permitted subject to the restrictions of five years only to a woman auto driver. The department has already received 25 fresh applications from female applicants since it reopened for female drivers a day ago. Female applicants can apply till Feb 23, 2022,” the department said in a statement.

All successful applicants who receive the LOI would be required to purchase the TSR and apply for registration on the Single Window portal of CESL within 45 days of issue of LOI, or before 30.04.2022, failing which, the LOI will be deemed to be surrendered and the applicant included in the waiting list. The registration of the e-autos will only be allowed for persons having a valid PSV badge. In order to ensure a hassle free ownership/ leasing process for e-auto, the department has allowed provision for purchasing e-autos from authorised dealers through single window system- www.myev.org.in developed by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) wherein the dealer will act as single window interface for booking, completion of registration formalities.