Free e-vehicles may be given to those in BPL & extreme poverty category

Thiruvananthapuram: The city corporation and Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL) will soon develop a business and operation model to give a major push to the use of e-vehicles among the public. The plan is to procure e-carts, e-autos and e-scooters. In the latest board meeting it was suggested that e-vehicles could be provided free of cost to the beneficiaries from below poverty line category, and for those belonging to the extreme poverty group as identified under the state government’s extreme poverty eradication mission.
The board has also discussed the possibilities of giving e-vehicles to other categories at 25% subsidy. The SCTL and the corporation have been directed to prepare a business model for this and in the process the SCTL will also look into the issues which plagued the launch of e-vehicle project in the city earlier.
As part of the smart city project, the civic body had planned to introduce shared e-mobility in the city. However, the project fell flat due to the Covid pandemic. The introduction of e-autos and e-rickshaws has not had a smooth run in the city, as many beneficiaries opted out of the scheme citing various reasons.
Two share auto mobility corridors were considered by the SCTL ahead of the launch of city's first share auto scheme. About 15 e-rickshaws were planned to ply along Thampanoor-Overbridge-Secretariat-Legislative assembly -Museum-public office-Manaveeyam stretch and Thampanoor - Overbridge-Gandhi Park - Pazhavangadi - Sree Padmanabha swamy temple precincts. The corridors were analysed for possible demand for commute from railway station, bus stand to offices and places of tourist attraction and religious significance.
The SCTL also had to blacklist the firm which had supplied the e-rickshaws. Officials associated with the project said that the company had failed to address the issues properly despite raising it several times. Lack of a service centre further added to the grievances.
The SCTL then had to enter into an agreement with Kudumbasree to engage new beneficiaries for e-rickshaw project under the smart city scheme. A few beneficiaries had backed out from the scheme citing various technical difficulties prompting the SCTL to look for new beneficiaries.
The e-rickshaws were conceived to encourage shared mobility scheme in the city. The beneficiaries chosen for the scheme were given training and directed to run it as normal passenger autos. Some of the beneficiaries raised concerns regarding incurring electricity bills from charging at home and some complained of power delivered by the vehicle.
The SCTL installed a charging station at Gandhi Park and the entire expense is being taken care of by them. Even then some of the beneficiaries reportedly stuck with the demand to get e-autos instead of e-rickshaws.
In a move aimed at reducing emissions and enhancing cost-efficiency, the civic body recently rolled out 25 e-carts for waste management in the city.
The corporation purchased the electric carts at a cost of Rs 50 lakhs as part of detailed project report prepared under Swachh Bharat Mission (urban). The e-carts are primarily used for the transportation of non-biodegradable waste, dry leaves in 25 health circles. The corporation aims at phasing out diesel powered pick up autos with the introduction of e-carts.