E-rickshaw zone comes into effect, 600 vehicles to be launched

Diesel and CNG autorickshaws banned in electric three-wheelers zone. Fares were not disclosed, but officials said it will be nominal

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) will launch 600 e-rickshaws in the city on Monday and put into effect the city’s first electric three-wheelers zone (ETWZ), officials said on Sunday. Diesel and CNG autorickshaws will not be allowed to operate in the zone, they said.

There are over 8,000 diesel autorickshaws in Gurugram at present. (HT Archive)

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will kick off the e-rickshaws from Galleria Market around 11am. While 150 e-rickshaws will be flagged off from the Galleria Market, 450 will start off from other points in the zone. The launch of the vehicles and the creation of the electric three-wheelers zone project is being referred to as the Parivartan project.

A spokesperson for the district administration said that Khattar will inaugurate three projects in the city, costing around ₹259 crore, and preside over the district grievance redressal meeting on Monday afternoon.

“The Haryana chief minister will first launch the Parivartan project. Under this project, there is a plan to run electric three-wheelers in place of diesel-powered three-wheelers that are currently running in Gurugram. This is a joint effort of the MCG, regional transport authority (RTO), and Gurugram traffic police. Under this project, initially, 2,000 diesel-powered three-wheelers will be replaced at a cost of around ₹6 crore by e-three wheelers,” the spokesperson for the district administration stated in a release.

According to MCG officials, the zone covers Udyog Vihar, Ambience Mall, DLF Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4, DLF-5, Cyber City-Golf Course Road stretch, Mall Mile, Huda City Centre (HCC), sectors 28 and 29, and Wazirabad.

Gurugram traffic police and MCG officials have been carrying out awareness programmes for diesel autorickshaw drivers since July and cautioned them that upon entering the barred zone, they will be penalised and that repeated offences may lead to vehicles being impounded.

The launch of e-rickshaws is a part of MCG’s plan of replacing 2,000 diesel autorickshaws with a cleaner mode of transportation to reduce the city’s air pollution. Efforts in this regard have been underway since last September.

MCG officials did not disclose the fare details of the 600 e-rickshaws. However, they said that the fee will be nominal.

“Taking cognisance of the high level of air pollution as well as the longstanding demand of citizens to introduce a metered mode of travel, the MCG is launching e-rickshaws across the city. This will not only help residents but also assist drivers, as the running and maintenance costs (of e-rickshaws) are far lower than diesel autorickshaws,” Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, the commissioner of MCG, said.

In coordination with a private electric mobility service, the MCG has set up five electric parking and charging hubs in the zone. The charging hubs at Udyog Vihar and Wazirabad have a capacity of accommodating and charging 150 vehicles, while the ones at Huda City Centre, MG Road Metro station and Sikanderpur have a capacity of accommodating and charging 20-50 vehicles each. The MCG has also proposed setting up charging hubs in DLF Phase-3, Guru Dronacharya Metro station and Galleria Market, which will also have a capacity of accommodating and charging 20-50 vehicles each.

The formation of an electric three-wheelers zone was announced by the MCG on July 9 following a meeting with Gurugram traffic police officials, district transport department officials and representatives of a private electric mobility service.

In April, the MCG held a meeting with diesel autorickshaw owners and drivers to sensitise them about the environmental harms caused by diesel autorickshaws and MCG’s policies, including monetary aid, for switching to the electric mode of transport.

However, members of autorickshaw unions said that they were not consulted and that they received mixed information on whether CNG autorickshaws will be allowed to operate in the zone.

“Our union was not called for any meeting with MCG officials and the matter was discussed with auto owners and a few drivers alone. While we are not against the move, we want clarity on whether CNG autos can ply in the ETWZ as we have received mixed information on the matter,” Yogesh Sharma, state general secretary, Haryana Auto Chalak Sanghatan, said.

According to Sharma, there are 8,265 diesel autorickshaws in Gurugram.

“The MCG needs to ensure that they have some form of parameters or standards for e-rickshaws to ensure that only the safest and sturdiest e-rickshaws are introduced in the city,” said Sewa Raman, an urban transport system design expert and a faculty member with the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA).