Panaji: State govt has begun consultations with licensed autorickshaw operators as it works to finalise the electric vehicle (EV) subsidy scheme aimed at encouraging a transition to cleaner public transport.The Department of New and Renewable Energy on Wednesday held its first round of discussions with representatives of autorickshaw associations to gather feedback on the proposed scheme.At the interaction, autorickshaw operators remained cautious about shifting to electric vehicles and sought greater clarity on several aspects of the proposal.One of the demands raised by the associations was that only existing licensed autorickshaw operators should be eligible for the subsidy. They also insisted that permits issued for conventional autorickshaws should be transferred to the new electric vehicles rather than fresh permits being issued.Department director, Soham Uscaicar said the proposal would need to be explicitly incorporated into the policy, along with amendments to provisions governed under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.“The existing permit should be transferred to the new EV rickshaw, and no new permits should be issued. That is broadly the plan, but we will have to incorporate it formally and may have to modify certain legal provisions. We have taken the transport authorities into confidence and will brief the Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant on the matter,” he said.Autorickshaw representatives said that they would hold another round of internal discussions before conveying their final views to the government.“We want more technical details about the vehicles, such as how the EV rickshaws will perform, their operational life, battery replacement timelines and other practical aspects,” they said.Goa has around 2,000 licensed autorickshaw operators, with more than 150 representatives attending Wednesday’s consultation.The proposed EV subsidy programme is expected to cover both licensed autorickshaw operators and two wheeler taxi ‘pilots’ under a single policy framework. The government is targeting its rollout before Ganesh Chaturthi.
