Promulgation of e-rickshaw ordinance gets Cabinet nod

NEW DELHI: E-rickshaws and e-carts will now be able to ply on roads legally as the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the ordinance that sought to treat the two as motor vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

The government took the ordinance route as the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill could not be passed in the parliament session that ended on Tuesday.

As per the amended law, e-rickshaws will be allowed to carry only four passengers and not more than 40 kg of luggage. The law also requires an e-rickshaw to have a motor of not more than 2,000 watts and a maximum speed of 25 km per hour.

E-rickshaws and e-carts will also be required to follow all rules of displaying registration number plates including size of letters and numerals and to carry necessary documents such as a valid fitness certificate.

“The e- rickshaws will be a great help to dalits and poor people from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and minorities,” road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had told the Lok Sabha in his reply to the discussion on the proposed bill.

The minister had also responded to the apprehensions of some members about the safety of e-rickshaw passengers as well as that of other road users by citing the new rules. State governments will now register these vehicles as per the amended rules. Most of these vehicles are plying in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

“With improvement in technology, society craves for value addition to vehicles and expresses the hope that more and more manually-pulled cycle rickshaws would upgrade to the electric powered three-wheeled vehicles,” Gadkari had said. E-rickshaws and e-carts will have to comply with automobile industry standards.