RAAHI Project: Subsidy on replacement of diesel autos with electronic ones in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 29

Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) is starting the RAAHI (Rejuvenation of Auto-Rickshaw in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention) project soon for which a cash subsidy of Rs 75,000 will be given for replacing the old diesel auto with an e-auto to improve the city’s public transport and to reduce pollution levels.

Announcing the subsidy under the RAAHI project here on Wednesday, Amritsar Smart City CEO and Municipal Commissioner Malwinder Singh Jaggi said under the RAAHI scheme, there is a plan to replace around 12,000 old diesel autos in the city with modern and eco-friendly e-autos. For that, a cash subsidy of Rs 75,000 will be given to each beneficiary.

It is worth mentioning here that Amritsar Smart City working on RAAHI project for a long time under the CITIIS (City Investment to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain) programme run by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).

Apart from this, Amritsar Smart City Limited has tied up with State Bank of India to provide loans to e-auto buyers on easy rates. Under which, the loan will also be given by the State Bank at a rate of 9.9%. He said Amritsar would be the first city in the country where e-autos would be made part of the public transport system on a large scale and the government was giving a huge subsidy to buy e-autos. Apart from that, installation of e-vehicle charging stations and programmes for welfare of auto rickshaw drivers is also being planned under the RAAHI project.

Malwinder Singh Jaggi, CEO, Amritsar Smart City, said, “Earnings of rickshaw drivers will increase after the adoption of e-autos. As the current cost of driving diesel auto has gone up to more than Rs 4 per km at the current diesel price and it is only 0.68 paise per km in the e-auto. At the same time, adoption of e-autos will decrease the level of air pollution as well as noise pollution also. Amritsar smart city has already started the empowerment of OEMs of e-autos and the project will be started before Diwali”.