Electric Scooters catching fire: Govt to penalise EV companies found negligent, says Nitin Gadkari
New Delhi, Apr 21: With increasing incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the companies found negligent will be penalised and a recall of all defective vehicles will be ordered after receiving the report of an expert panel that has been formed to enquire into the matter.
In a series of tweets, Gadkari said several mishaps involving electric two-wheelers have come to light in the last two months. "We have constituted an expert committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps.
"Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies," the road transport and highways minister said.
According to Gadkari, the government will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles."
He said:"If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.
Meanwhile,
companies
may
take
advance
action
to
recall
all
defective
batches
of
vehicles
immediately,
Gadkari
tweeted.
"Under
the
leadership
of
PM
Shri
@narendramodi
ji,
our
government
is
committed
to
ensure
safety
of
each
and
every
commuter," he
tweeted.
The
government
had
ordered
a
probe
last
month
after
an
e-scooter
launched
by
ride-hailing
operator
Ola's
electric
mobility
arm
caught
fire
in
Pune.
The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) had been asked to probe the circumstances that led to the incident and also suggest remedial measures, according to the road transport ministry. The ministry had also asked CFEES to share the findings along with its suggestions on measures to prevent such incidents.
So far, three Pure EV, one Ola, two Okinawa, and 20 Jitendra EV scooters have caught fire.