In a bid to curb the mushrooming of e-rickshaws in the national capital, Delhi Government has moved a proposal to the Lieutenant Governor for conducting safety and security audit of these battery-operated vehicles.
The department has also moved a proposal to take strict action against dealers selling e-rickshaws.
"Sealing of manufacturing units and filing FIRs against the unregistered dealers are the future course of action that is being contemplated in this direction," said an official.
As part of its policy, Delhi government had banned the sale of new e-rickshaws till a policy under the Motor Vehicles Act was formed.
According to the Transport department, these vehicles have become a major traffic problem across the city.
According to officials from the Transport department, insurance companies consider these environment-friendly vehicles illegal as they are not registered and therefore are not insured.
"If an accident is attributed to e-rickshaws, then the occupants will not get any claims from insurance companies," the officials said.
Transport department had asked the dealers to register for a trade licence within three months. Drivers had been given six months to get a commercial licence and public service vehicle (PSV) badge.
The decision to register battery rickshaws under the Motors Vehicle Act was taken following a study by environment body TERI. Under the Delhi Motors Vehicles Act, vehicles with motor power less than 250W and speed less than 25 kmph are regarded as non-motorised. The battery-operated rickshaws are supposed to have motor power of less than 250W.
