In an effort to provide impetus to the shift to electric vehicles, the Government of Delhi government, on February 14, has shortlisted applicants for the allotment of electric auto-rickshaws through a computerised draw of lots. A letter of intent is to be shared with all the successful applicants by the government by the end of the month. As per the official statement, women drivers will drive the lilac-coloured e-autorickshaws while men will drive blue e-autos.
In a decision on February 11, the Supreme Court gave a green signal to the Delhi government to resume the registration of 4261 e-autos to be operated in the city.
In October 2021, the Transport Department of Delhi rolled out the scheme for registration of 4261 e-autos, of which 33 per cent will be exclusively reserved for women drivers. In a month’s time, the government received 20,589 applications. Of these, 2,855 male applicants were selected through a single common computerised draw of lots on February 14.
The draw was held under the supervision of a committee comprising senior officials of the Transport Department and a special invitee from the Department of Women and Child Development. The list of the applicants both successful and waitlisted has been uploaded on the Transport Department’s website.
Further, 743 female applicants, of the 1,406 e-auto rickshaws reserved for women, will be eligible for the scheme. The government will issue the respective LOIs subject to removal of deficiency in some cases where applications are found deficient on certain accounts.
Also Read: Delhi Govt Notifies EV Policy for Cab Aggregators & Delivery Companies
The Delhi government has decided to invite fresh applications for the balance 663 e-autos reserved for women and hold a special draw of lots. However, if the remaining slots remain un-allotted, the LOI for these e-autos will be allotted to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) with the permission to operate these e-autos through an aggregator/operator. The aggregators will be operating these vehicles with a further condition that these shall be driven by only women.
According to Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, despite the colour differentiation, strict enforcement would be put in place once these autos start plying on the city streets to make sure that the benefits given to women drivers do not get misused by male drivers.
(With inputs from PTI)
