At a time when the government is facing an acute financial crunch, road safety funds of ₹3.70 lakh is being paid to the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT) every year for each of the 71 electric cars that the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has taken on lease from the agency, reveals an RTI query.
This amounts to over ₹29 lakh per car over the eight-year lease period. The MVD can purchase two such cars using this amount and deploy them for rule enforcement, says Raju Vazhakkala, RTI activist, who sourced the information from the Transport department.
Already, ₹4.95 crore has been paid in the April 2021-September 2023 period as the lease amount to ANERT, since the fleet of 71 e-cars were inducted for road safety enforcement. The funds are sourced from the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA), which gets a portion of the fine amount that is collected for traffic rule violations, he says.
Former Executive Director of the KRSA T. Elangovan, during whose tenure the fleet of e-cars was inducted into the MVD, says the lease amount per car also covers the maintenance expense. The entire process was done through competitive bidding, as per government norms. The fleet was inducted as part of the Safe Kerala Project to halve the number of accidents in the State over a five-year period, he says.
While stating that e-cars have been maintained well, thanks to their warranty coverage, MVD sources say they often encounter range issues that hampers round-the-clock deployment since they need to be charged for eight hours.
There is also a limit to deploying them beyond a distance and they cannot be relied on for emergency situations where they will have to be deployed beyond the district. They are, however, helpful when diesel-run enforcement vehicles were unable to operate after fuel outlets refused fuel citing non-clearance of dues.
With the Sabarimala pilgrimage season on, many MVD enforcement vehicles have been redirected to roads leading to the temple as part of the Safe Zone Project. The recent curbs on deploying MVD patrol vehicles, citing funds crunch, has affected enforcement. In this situation, CNG-run vehicles seem a better option, since the fuel is relatively cheap and more fuel efficient, they say.
The Central rule that all government vehicles older than 15 years must be withdrawn from service has further hit MVD’s enforcement duties, it is learnt.
