Regional Transport Authority imposes more conditions to issue permits for already registered e-autos within Mangaluru city

The Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, who had on October 30 said electric autorickshaws to be registered from October 31 will not be allowed to ply within Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) limits, has stipulated more conditions to issue permits to already registered e-autos to operate within the Corporation limits.

Deputy Commissioner H.V. Darshan, who is also the district magistrate, had issued the October 30 order under Section 115 of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Rule 221 (a) (5) of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules to regulate operation of certain categories of vehicles in a particular area. The December 6 order stipulating more conditions to issue permits to already registered e-autos had been issued by Mr. Darshan, who is also the chairman of the Regional Transport Authority, which issues permits for transport vehicles.

He had, on October 30, noted that there are 10,500 autorickshaws operating within MCC limits, including 6,949 LPG/CNG and 3,551 electric, for a population of around 6 lakh. The number of vehicles is more than sufficient to cater to the needs of the general public, he had said, adding that the proliferation of new autorickshaws is also causing traffic snarls in many parts of the city.

Five conditions

The RTA has prescribed five conditions to issue permits to e-autos that are already registered to ply within MCC limits: the applicant should have been residing within the Corporation limits for the last five years, no permit for e-autos will be issued to persons already holding permit/s for regular autorickshaws, only one e-auto permit will be issued per person, the applicant should hold an autorickshaw driver badge, and finally, he/she should drive the e-auto that receives the permit.

Conventional operators

Conventional autorickshaw operators had opposed the entry of electric autorickshaws into MCC limits, stating that the operation of these vehicles without availing permits had denied a level-playing field.

While the district administration had frozen the issuance of new autorickshaw permits for MCC limits from July 1997, the Union Road Transport Ministry’s July 2019 direction to State governments to exempt e-autos from permits had opened doors for them.