TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: In the wake of a major upheaval following the tourist taxi strike, violence and police lathicharge Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar declared point-to-point fare, standard fare and parking slots for their vehicles, to bring normalcy to the vitiated atmosphere.
Parrikar said that he would support the local taxi owners and do what can be done for them within the legal framework. The chief minister criticized them for taking the law into their own hands saying there was no need to do so and there were a variety of means to approach him in case they had any grievances.
“I will support them within the legal framework. But if someone is doing something illegal, how can I support?’ he questioned, adding his government would declare point-to-point fare, after consulting them.
Parrikar indicated that the state transport authority meeting would in principle clear the proposal and that he would give them a regulated mechanism, with government publishing rate charts and also ensure parking slots for their vehicles.
“If you harass tourists then you think tourists will come back?’ he asked. In case there is a problem it was up to the passenger to lodge a complaint giving the vehicle number, the chief minister said.
He also promised to ‘restrict’ companies like Olacabs from outside, but stressed that the taxi drivers would have to follow some regulatory systems too.
Meanwhile, the state transport authority (STA) met Tuesday to discuss this issue, but there was no official confirmation on issues discussed as officials refused to talk.
The taxi operators association will also meet the chief minister on Wednesday.
Taxi drivers also met the media and brought up another issue that they want discussed Wednesday – that of taxation. According to them there is a problem with the notification that was published some time back on payment of taxes. This allows for payment of taxes for 10 years first – first nine years normal tourist taxis and the 10th year all Goa taxis. However, after the tenth year if the owner wants to make it a private taxi he has to pay the tax on the invoice price for 15 years, while the notification for vehicles from outside the state grants a deduction, taxi owners complained.
Saying that transport officials claim that the wording on the notification which says “out of state” was a mistake, it has still not been rectified as yet and this is leading to loss for local taxi operators.
