Delhi Government has no immediate plan to take autos off the city roads and its proposal to replace them with eco-friendly battery operated vehicles is part of a long-term process, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Thursday.
Her comments came a day after she slammed the auto operators for their “poor standard of service” and said the government was working on alternatives to provide commuters a better way of transportation.
“There is no immediate plan to take the autos off the city roads. What I said yesterday was that the proposal may be implemented in the long run as part of efforts to turn Delhi into a complete green city,” she told reporters here.
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Many automobile manufacturers like Honda and Bajaj had approached the government with the idea of battery-operated cabs which will go a long way in reducing pollution, she said on the sidelines of the two-day Delhi Tourism Conclave here.
“We just want that in future, cleaner fuels are used for public transport... This is in a very embryonic stage... let us see what the future holds for us,” Ms. Dikshit said, when asked whether it is practically feasible to phase out autos from the city roads.
While speaking in the assembly, the Chief Minister had slammed the auto operators saying, “Their service is very poor. In today’s time, it is not acceptable. We are exploring ways to phase them out“.
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Close to nearly 60,000 auto-rickshaws ply on Delhi’s roads. In the last one year, the enforcement wing of Transport department impounded a total of 8,777 autos for violating norms, while 1,877 autos were so far fined this year.