Gurugram Deputy Commissioner issues guidelines to phase out diesel auto-rickshaws by Dec 31

Gurugram (The Uttam Hindu): Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Ajay Kumar issued necessary guidelines on Saturday to phase out diesel vehicles in the district by December 31 in compliance with the Commission for Air Quality Management's order.

After a meeting with officials, Kumar said, "Gurugram has a distinct identity as a Millennium City in the country and abroad. We have to work collectively in this direction so that the people coming here take back a better image of the city in their minds."

He informed that under the orders by the CAQM on November 30, 2022, different deadlines were set for removing diesel auto-rickshaws from the roads in the entire NCR region.

December 31, 2024 deadline was fixed for Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Kumar told Sub-Divisional Officers, the Secretary of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) and Police Department officials that action should be taken against diesel auto-rickshaws.

He also asked police officers to take to task auto-rickshaw drivers who carry more passengers than the capacity of their vehicles.

The Deputy Commissioner also instructed that any auto-rickshaws plying without a registered number or driven by a minor should be immediately impounded.

North Gurugram Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Ravinder Kumar said the total number of auto-rickshaws on the road was 38,400, of which 1,015 were run by diesel.

"Under the mandate of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), diesel auto-rickshaws were not being registered in the district from January 1, 2023. At the same time, under the process of removing diesel auto-rickshaws from the roads, more than 80 auto-rickshaws have been impounded so far," he said.

DC Gurugram said in a post on social media platform X that the district administration, actively working towards environmental protection, has intensified efforts to remove diesel auto-rickshaws from the district.