Despite the Delhi government’s push for women drivers with tedious paperwork and higher interest rates for not buying three-wheelers, only 14 out of 743 women applicants have registered their e-autos.
The AAP-led city government had issued letters of intent to 4,261 people, including 2,855 male and 743 female applicants. According to official data from the Transport Department, “Out of these 743 applicants, only 14 women have registered their e-autos, while 273 men have done so.”
Shamshon Nesha, a woman applicant who received the letter of intent, said, “At first, it was difficult to process the loan. We had submitted our documents, but they kept postponing it.
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“We will check every 15-20 days, but we were told that the documents are being processed. We had borrowed Rs 66,000 for the down payment, but after seeing several delays, we decided to surrender the letter of intent,” she said. Another woman applicant, requesting anonymity, said that the interest rate for getting an e-auto is quite high and it is impossible for them.
Government officials said there was a supply problem due to some chip problems in the vehicles, which may have been the reason for the low number of takers for the initiative. He also said that since electric auto-rickshaws are new in the market, the rate of interest is going to be higher, and with time, a balance will be established.
The Delhi government is providing 5 per cent interest subsidy on purchase of e-autos on loan with a purchase incentive of Rs 30,000 under the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, an official said.
The Delhi Transport Department had in October last year launched the scheme to register 4,261 e-autos, of which 33 per cent – 1,406 e-autos – are exclusively reserved for women drivers. Meanwhile, Rakesh Agarwal, president of Autorickshaw Union Driver Shakti, said that the government should have prepared better.
“We are in favor of women’s participation in the economy and driving e-autos. But the Delhi government reserved 1,406 e-autos for women without any preparation, and so far only 14 vehicles have been registered.” ,
Online applications were sought under the scheme in October and November last year. A total of 19,846 applications were received from male applicants against the quota of 2,855 e-autos and 743 applications were received from female applicants against the quota of 1,406 e-autos, officials said.
Later, the government issued a statement stating that 663 e-autos under women quota were allotted to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on March 3 this year with permission to operate through an aggregator or operator Were. The women-powered e-autos are in blue and lilac colors to enhance visibility.
(with inputs from PTI)