New Delhi: Delhi Cabinet Wednesday approved the Driving Upliftment and Rozgar for Women/Transgender Green e-Auto (‘DURGA’) scheme to provide women and transgender persons an opportunity to own and drive electric autos and earn a livelihood through self-employment.In the first phase, 1,300 pink electric autos — 1,170 for women and 130 for transgender persons — will be deployed. A maximum of 90 e-autos for women and up to 10 e-autos for transgender individuals will be allocated in each district. Applications will be invited through a dedicated portal and benefits will be available to applicants who meet the prescribed eligibility criteria.“The scheme is aimed at providing women and transgender persons with safe, clean and dignified employment opportunities,” said CM Rekha Gupta, who chaired the Cabinet meeting. “It also seeks to promote women’s safety, greater participation of transgender persons in the transport sector, last-mile connectivity and clean and sustainable urban transport.”The scheme, she said, has been designed keeping in mind commuting and safety challenges faced by women and transgender passengers, particularly during early morning and late evening hours. Govt said the scheme would also help create jobs in allied sectors.Under the scheme, women applicants must be aged 20 to 40 years, be residents of Delhi and have a valid voter identity card, LMV driving licence and PSV badge. A woman with more than three children will not be eligible. The applicant or her family must not own any registered transport vehicle or three-wheeler, and the family’s income in FY 2025-26 must not exceed Rs 5 lakh.Transgender applicants will have to submit a valid transgender certificate issued by the district magistrate’s office and meet the age, Delhi residency, voter identity card, LMV licence and PSV badge requirements.The e-autos will have a mandatory three-year lock-in period, during which they cannot be sold, transferred or disposed of in any other manner. The e-autos will carry ‘DURGA’ branding and special identification features. According to govt, this will make the vehicles easily identifiable and help strengthen passengers’ trust and confidence in them.The scheme also proposes a special arrangement to integrate the e-autos with the public transport network. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said that space for EV charging facilities has already been made available in the parking areas of 70 Metro stations.
