Diesel autos still plying on roads as RAAHI project hangs fire in Amritsar

Amid rising concern over poor air quality in the city, an effort made in that direction by the city authorities came a cropper. The government had made efforts to replace diesel autos with e-autos to check pollution and improve air quality in the city, but the scheme failed to fructify. In fact, despite subsidies, less than 1,000 e-autos were adopted, leaving over 35,000 diesel autos still on roads. The efforts made under the Rejuvenation of Auto-Rickshaws in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention (RAAHI) scheme for three years have now been paused.

The Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL), Municipal Corporation, Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the traffic police made efforts to create awareness among diesel auto drivers about the scheme for a long time but failed to implement the project.

As over 35,000 unauthorised diesel autos and e-rickshaws are still plying on roads, the authorities suspended the implementation of the project. Last year, the then MC Commissioner had declared all diesel autos plying on city roads as unauthorised and the traffic police started impounding the vehicles but political leaders intervened and stopped the drive.

“Officials of the Municipal Corporation, district administration and traffic police tried to impose restrictions on the operation of diesel autos and seized a few vehicles, declaring them illegal. But the Diesel Auto Operators Union blocked the road and put political pressure for leniency. Now, everyone is talking about the air pollution but an effort in this direction got stonewalled,” said an MC official.

It has been more than three years since the Amritsar Smart City Limited launched the RAAHI project. Under the project, diesel auto drivers had to give up their old vehicles and buy e-autos.

In lieu of this, a subsidy of Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 15,000 was offered for old diesel auto scrap to the drivers under the Smart City project. Nationalised banks were empanelled to pay the rest of the amount in easy installments.

Under the scheme, around 9,600 e-autos were approved for subsidy. Despite this, there were few takers for e-autos. The ASCL had reserved Rs 21 crore for the RAAHI project.