Maharashtra doubles pink e-auto subsidy to 40%

At the recently held Legislative Assembly, Minister for Women and Child Development Aditi Tatkare also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to deploy 5,000 pink e-autos across the state by simplifying the application process by the end of the current fiscal. Under the scheme, Pune district had earlier been allocated a target of approximately 4,000 pink e-autos. However, since the scheme was launched two years ago, only 17 women successfully completed the application process and commenced operations.

Experts with Parisar and Asar have been working closely with women applicants and other stakeholders involved in the scheme, including the Department of Women and Child Development (WCD), the implementing agency Kinetic Green and beneficiaries. Based on field engagement and an independent beneficiary survey carried out in Pune, the organisations have documented implementation challenges and submitted recommendations to the concerned authorities.

The survey found that women applicants continue to face several barriers including lack of clarity regarding eligibility criteria and documentation, delays during various stages of the application process, difficulties in accessing finance and arranging the beneficiary contribution, and concerns about the commercial viability of operating the vehicle.

Deo, senior programme associate at Parisar, told The Indian Express that the increase in subsidy was a welcome step and has the potential to significantly improve the scheme’s uptake, provided it is accompanied by timely implementation and adequate institutional support. “The visibility of the scheme is still low and awareness about the initiative needs to be increased by the WCD,” she said.

Pointing out that the Pune Metro can play a key role by providing dedicated space for women beneficiaries at Metro stations, Deo added, other departments like transport and traffic police play a critical role in ensuring timely licensing, vehicle registration, permit approvals, route planning, designated parking and pick-up points, and overall operational facilitation. “Sensitisation of male auto-rickshaw drivers is also vital to support women beneficiaries with regards to sharing auto stands and preventing workplace hostility,” Deo added

Vilas Gite, Program Associate at Asar said that beneficiaries have also raised concerns regarding vehicle speed, ride comfort and the resulting passenger acceptance At the same time, the service has received a positive response from some passengers. “ Many beneficiaries also say that owning and driving an auto-rickshaw has given them confidence, dignity, financial independence and the flexibility to determine their own work schedules,” Gite added. While many women beneficiaries appreciated the enhanced subsidy for reducing their upfront financial burden, they stressed that financial assistance alone would not ensure long-term livelihood sustainability. The beneficiaries stressed that the implementing agencies should provide timely and readily accessible technical support to ensure immediate assistance in the event of technical or maintenance-related issues while operating the vehicle.