New Delhi:
A bill to resolve issues like commercial licences for e-rickshaw drivers will be introduced in the current session of Parliament, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
The Delhi High Court on July 31 banned the plying of e-rickshaws on Delhi's roads on safety concerns, following which the government last month had notified rules for making driving licence mandatory for plying the battery-operated vehicles.
"We are ready with a Bill to solve issues like commercial licensing for e-rickshaw drivers...The Bill will be introduced in the current session and it would be our effort to get it passed. The draft has been sent to the Law Ministry for vetting after which a Cabinet note would be moved," Mr Gadkari said on the sidelines of the launch of the India-Nepal bus service in New Delhi.
As per information, the Bill seeks to relax the norms for issuing 'learners licence' for e-rickshaw drivers.
The Motor Vehicles (MV) Act provides that no person shall be granted a learner's licence to drive a transport vehicle (commercial vehicle) unless he has held a driving licence for a light motor vehicle for at least one year.
E-rickshaw has been brought under the MV Act as a commercial vehicle.
As per last month's notification, e-rickshaw will be allowed to carry four passengers and 40 kilograms of luggage while e-carts would transport goods up to 310 kilograms.
The rules define e-rickshaw as a special purpose battery-operated vehicle 'having three wheels and intended to provide last mile connectivity for transport of passengers for hire or reward'.
These vehicles are constructed or adapted to carry not more than four passengers, excluding the driver and the net power of its motor is not more than 2000 Watts and the maximum speed of the vehicle is not more than 25 kilometre per hour.