LT. GOVERNOR SHOULD FOIL CONSPIRACY TO BAN THE SERVICE OF BATTERY OPERATED RICKSHAW – DR. HARSH VARDHAN
New Delhi, April 17th. In a letter written to the Lt. Governor of Delhi, BJP Delhi Pradesh President Dr. Harsh Vardhan has demanded that he should effectively present the case of Delhi Government before the High Court for continuance of the service of lakhs of battery operated rickshaws so that the attempt of some vested interest may be foiled who want to stop the operation of the battery rickshaws.
He has written to the Lt. Governor that the service of battery operated rickshaws started about two years ago in Delhi. At present there are one lakh battery operated rickshaws on the roads of Delhi. It has provided livelihood to more than one lakh unemployed persons. Some vested interest and corrupt persons in the administration do not want this service to continue. For this purpose they have moved the High Court to ban the operation of these battery rickshaws. They have hatched a conspiracy to deprive livelihood of lakhs of families by presented fabricated facts before the court.
There are some facts about the battery rickshaw which deserve serious consideration. Battery rickshaws are driven by human beings. It has the capacity to seat four persons. Many battery rickshaws also carry goods in Delhi. The greatest advantage is that it does not add to pollution which is a boon to the polluted city like Delhi. In Delhi, Metro Rail, Local Rail, DTC Buses, Metro Feeder Buses, RTVs, Auto Rickshaw, Paddle Rickshaw are the means of public transport. After the introduction of battery rickshaws, the Public Transport System has become more convenient.
The arguments against the service of battery rickshaws are that these are being run without registration and without paying the VAT. The Government does not have concrete data about it. According to the outdated laws of Transport Department, only those vehicles are registered which are of more than 250 watts. It is also said that there is no insurance for the battery rickshaw. On paper they are shown as having 250 watt capacity whereas they are of 300 to 650 watt capacity. Even the Delhi traffic police wants that the operation of battery rickshaws should be stopped. The reality is that the traffic police have no illegal earning from the battery rickshaw. The arbitrary behavior of the Auto Rickshaws operators has also been curbed due to it. Hence, the auto rickshaw lobby also wants that the service of battery rickshaws should be stopped and their loot may continue.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan has requested the Lt. Governor that he should look into this matter from humanitarian point of view and its potential to create employment in Delhi. The laws are framed for the convenience and welfare of the people. Any law which deprives any person of his livelihood should be amended in view of the ground reality. Amendment of Section 376 of IPC should also be taken into consideration in this regard. The Government was compelled to make this change in view of the strong desire of the people. Similarly, there are many rules framed by transport department which are unfit in the present circumstances and encourage corruption. Lt. Governor should recommend the Transport Department to form a high level committee to review the anti people rules of Transport Department. On the recommendations of this committee, public welfare oriented rules should be framed. Delhi Government should strongly present its case in favor of uninterrupted operation of battery rickshaws so that crores of people of Delhi may get benefit of this service.
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