In yet another instance of public pressure compelling the State to retreat, the Goa government on Monday was forced to put on hold the steep hike in parking fees at Manohar International Airport, Mopa. The decision came barely a day after it scrapped the controversial IIT project at Codar following strong community resistance.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, after meeting a delegation of taxi operators, assured that the parking fee increase — from 80 to 210 — would be kept in abeyance for three days. Taxi unions, backed by political leaders, will meet him again on October 3 to press for a permanent rollback.
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The announcement followed a noisy protest outside Mopa airport, where hundreds of taxi operators carried placards and banners, slamming the hike as arbitrary, unaffordable, and a direct attack on their livelihood. Many accused airport concessionaire GMR of acting high-handedly, alleging that repeated hikes amounted to harassment — especially for land losers who had surrendered property for the airport project.
North and South Goa Taxi Union leader Sunil Naik criticised GMR for instructing taxi operators not to correspond with the company. “Being in Goa and threatening us — this is the situation. They should not forget that the land for the airport was given by Goans. From the start, we said if the government has no money, it should not build the airport. Now GMR is acting like king of the ring,” Naik said.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who accompanied the delegation, said, “Land losers should be treated preferentially and fairly. Otherwise, what is the point of giving up land for airport development? GMR seems to believe it is above the rules.”
RGP president Manoj Parab also lashed out at the fee hike, calling it “an attempt to harass taxi operators” and reminding that even previous hikes lacked justification.
Many operators, several of them land losers, said this was the fifth time fees had been raised without prior consultation. “The government has not sold the airport to GMR — it still holds a share. GMR must not act unilaterally,” one operator said.
Later, speaking to reporters, CM Sawant clarified that the revised parking fee at Mopa does not apply to regular taxi operators but only to commercial parking of private and other commercial vehicles. “If blue cab parking fees have really been hiked, I am ready to revert the increase,” he said. Sawant also agreed to the demand of Pernem taxi operators to stop rent-a-cars from operating at the airport, but with the condition that all taxis must report to the counter.
The protests at Mopa, coming right after the agitation at Codar that forced the IIT project rollback, underline a growing trend in Goa — grassroots mobilisation is increasingly pushing the government to backtrack on projects perceived as unjust or harmful.
With taxi operators holding out for a permanent cancellation of the hike, the government now faces another test of balancing its development push with the livelihoods of Goans.
