KOCHI: For nearly a year, about 30 e-autorickshaws have remained parked on the Kaloor metro station premises. The very sight of them throws up several questions: why are they there when the city could greatly benefit from improved last-mile connectivity? To whom do they belong?
The chorus of these questions has grown loud in recent weeks, prompting KMRL on Sunday to issue a directive to the Ernakulam District Autorickshaw Drivers Co-operative Society, the purported owner of these autos, to see the immediate removal of the vehicles.
While the agency has given time until April 30, TNIE learnt that moving the autorickshaws may be more difficult than just turning the ignition and driving away as a systemic rot has taken hold of these vehicles.
In 2022, the society entered into an agreement with the corporation and KMRL for an ambitious project to augment last-mile connectivity in the city. Availing funds from the German enterprise GIZ, the corporation bought 30 e-autorickshaws for use by the society. The seed fund covered a quarter of the cost of 80 autorickshaws.
However, the society decided to go for just 30 autorickshaws on a pilot basis. For this, Rs 50,000 was drawn from the funds to cover the initial cost of each auto. The remainder of the Rs 2.5 lakh amount for each autorickshaw was footed by the Society via a bank loan.
“At the time of inception, the government had made it clear that it would make available to the Society Rs 30,000 as a subsidy for each autorickshaw to promote electric vehicles,” said Binu Varghese, a Society officer-bearer.
“The contract was designed with the expectation that this subsidy would come to us, even though we are a society. It is also this expectation that prompted the society’s director board to avail a bank loan in their name for the remainder of the amount necessary to acquire 30 autorickshaws.”
Now, even four years later, this subsidy is nowhere to be seen, Binu said, citing it as one of the reasons why several e-autorickshaws remain parked on the metro station premises.
“The amount comes to about Rs 9 lakh. Despite writing to the chief minister, the then transport minister Antony Raju, and Industries Minister P Rajeeve, we did not receive any updates. Even during this uncertainty, for nearly two years, we continued to repay the loan without any defaults,” Binu highlighted.
The problems came shortly after, when the autorickshaws had to go for mandatory vehicle testing. And it rose from the maintenance clause in the contract being interpreted differently.
The officials were of the opinion that the autorickshaw’s maintenance, including testing, needed to be taken care of by the drivers.
Meanwhile, the drivers and the society said that asking them to foot that bill, in addition to the nearly Rs 33,000 they were paying as licence fee to KMRL for 30 autorickshaws, was asking too much of them.
“Each test costs between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000. This is a big sum. Yet despite running at a loss, we footed the cost of testing nearly 50 of the 75 autorickshaws. Of them, 30 belonged to the project, and the other vehicles, directly to KMRL. Both were used to run feeder services,” Binu said.
The society said had the subsidy come in time, they could have seen to the testing and kept the services running. Sadly, that was not to be.
When TNIE enquired with the official, it learned that there were certain hindrances to releasing funds to societies, as opposed to drivers directly. But Binu said that it was just a few officials in the motor vehicles department who hold that view, and apparently, bypassing them is difficult.