The debate on safety concerns with regard to the roll-out of Bajaj Auto’s quadricycles on Indian roads remained inconclusive, as manufacturers, industry bodies and officials from different Ministries failed to reach a consensus on Thursday.

A senior official from the Road Transport and Highways Ministry said it will hold another meeting next week, based on inputs received from various stakeholders.

Broadly, the Ministries of Heavy Industries and Road Transport and Highways share similar views on the technical specifications (200 CC, 400kg, four-seater) of the vehicle.

The only issue that needs to be clinched is whether the vehicle should be permitted private use.

The decision on the vehicle’s fate will be based on the lines of testing under the European norms, a Ministry source said.

“The technical standards committee has submitted its report. The issues discussed were volumes of quadricycles to be produced, the problem of vehicles on roads, and when these will be rolled out,” a senior Road Ministry official said.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries is learnt to have said that quadricycles should be introduced as intra-city vehicles with commercial number plates.

It is a new category of vehicle, so it definitely requires a lot of discussion.

While some of the auto manufacturers are supporting the roll-out of quadricycles, others are not.

Therefore, there is need for a consensus, an industry veteran said.

Thursday’s meeting was attended by officials from Transport and Highways Ministry, Heavy Industries Ministry, International Centre for Automotive Technology, Automotive Research Association of India, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki India.

>ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in

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