The government is planning to bring battery-run electric rickshaws under a licensing and registration system, with solar power likely to be made mandatory for charging their batteries.

LGRD State Minister Mir Shahe Alam disclosed the plan at the Secretariat today, saying e-rickshaws charged using sources other than solar power would not be registered, and existing registrations would not be renewed if their batteries were not charged with solar energy.

“We have held a meeting to formulate the rules, and the rules are now being prepared,” he said.

The state minister said battery-run e-rickshaws would be brought into the registration system of city corporations and municipalities under the local government ministry.

The proposed rules will also set registration and renewal fees and prescribe fines for violations, he added.

The move comes as the government seeks to regulate the rapidly growing number of battery-run rickshaws, while also promoting renewable energy and curbing the unauthorised use of electricity to charge their batteries.

However, the government has yet to finalise the rules and details of how the solar charging requirement will be enforced.