Team Herald
PANJIM: A complaint has been filed before Goa Lokayukta by activist Sudip Tamankar against the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, alleging fraud in GoaMiles app-based taxi service.
Tamankar, who is the general secretary of All Goa Private Bus Owners’ Association, in his complaint has said that the GoaMiles app has been promoted by the government for their individual benefits.
Speaking to Herald, Tamankar said that for past one and half year the GoaMiles app was running illegally as they had no permission.
The tender for GoaMiles was floated on 6/2/2018 without any approval from the government.
“In fact, the guidelines for the app were framed in March 2019, upon which GoaMiles applied for permissions to operate from State Transport Authority, which was granted only in June 2019,” he said.
Tamankar said this meant that the GoaMiles was operating illegally and snatching bread and butter of Goan taxi operators.
Referring to the allegation of GTDC that the taxi owners were overcharging, he asked, “If they were overcharging why nobody was penalised under Transport department laws?”
And on GTDC’s claim that the taxi owners were refusing to fit digital meters, Tamankar claimed that the taxi owners never asked for extension of time for fixing meters and it was the then Director of transport Nikhil Desai who wanted extensions from High Court.
“On the other hand, he was busy with the launch of GoaMiles. This clearly shows he had vested interests,” Tamankar said.
