No takers for e-rickshaws distributed under PM scheme

The e-rickshaws distributed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 5 under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana seems to have no takers in Noida and Ghaziabad.

Nearly 2,000 battery-operated rickshaws are gathering dust at the NIB (National Institute of Biologicals) ground in Sector 62 Noida. The Mudra scheme refinances loans of up to ` 10 lakh given by lending institutions to small borrowers for non-farm income-generating activities.

Modi had distributed a total 5,100 e-rickshaws, of which a thousand each were meant for Noida and Ghaziabad. The rickshaws were linked to the Ola app and expected to offer online payment facility to customers. The distribution was aimed at empowering Dalits and women.

Noida road inspector Mahesh Sharma said 352 licences have been issued so far to e-rickshaw drivers but not even a single vehicle has been registered or issued route permit to date.

The e-rickshaw drivers need a valid driving licence, vehicle registration and route permits from transport department to ply the vehicles. However, nothing has been moving. The PM had distributed 5100 e-rickshaws of which 1000 were each for Noida and Ghaziabad only.

Bhar ti ya Micro Credit (BMC), the Lucknowbased microfinance company, which had financed these e-rickshaws has failed to get 2000 new buyers-cumdrivers for Noida and Ghaziabad.

As e- rickshaws are available cheaper than the price quoted by the company, neither the new buyers nor those who already own a vehicle have shown interest in the scheme.

“If you buy an e-rickshaw through BMC, it will cost between ` 1.60 lakh to ` 1.70 lakh after two or three years of instalments. I bought e-rickshaws from local dealers for ` 62,000. Also, I have never heard about this company. We are a group of 250 e-rickshaw drivers ferrying passengers in Sector 62. None of us are interested in getting it from BMC,” said Sandesh Kumar, a migrant from Bihar who is running an e-rickshaw in Noida for over a year.