In yet another instance of people’s pow er compelling the State to retreat, the government on Monday was forced to put on hold the steep hike in parking fees at Mano har International Airport, Mopa — just a day after it bowed to public resistance and scrapped the contro versial IIT project at Codar. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, after meeting a del egation of taxi operators, assured that the parking fee increase — from Rs 80 to Rs 210 — would be kept in abeyance for three days. The operators, backed by political leaders, will meet the Chief Minister again on October 3 to seek a perma nent resolution.
The development came hours after hundreds of taxi op erators staged a noisy protest outside the airport, decry ing what they described as an arbitrary and unaffordable increase that would cut into their earnings and burden passengers. Carrying placards and banners, the operators accused the airport concessionaire, GMR, of hiking charg es without consultation, alleging that the move amounted to harassment of drivers, particularly land losers who had surrendered property for the airport project. North and South Goa Taxi Union leader Sunil Naik alleged that GMR was acting in a high-handed manner. He read out a letter received from the airport operator instructing taxi operators not to engage through correspondence. “Being in Goa and threatening us — this is the situation. They should not forget that the land for the airport was giv en by Goans. From the beginning, we had said that if the government has no money, it should not build the airport. They have become king of the ring and are asking us to ap proach the government if we have grievances,” Naik said. He also pointed out that stakeholders were not consulted when the decision to hike the fee was taken. He alleged that the government too was taking taxi operators for granted, forcing them to take to the streets. Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who accompanied the del egation, said, “We have been given an assurance that the increased rate will be kept on hold. 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. There must be a prop er system in place, but at the same time, land losers must be treated with priority.” Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) president Manoj Par ab echoed the anger, stating, “GMR will not become a mil lionaire by increasing the fees. This seems like an attempt to harass taxi operators. Even last time, the fees were in creased without proper justification.” The taxi operators, many of them land losers, warned that unilateral hikes without notice were unacceptable. “We want transparency. Why and how were the fees in creased without any notice? This is complete injustice to land losers. This is the fifth time the fees have been in creased,” one operator said. Another recalled that a GMR official had earlier promised consultation before any hike. “The government has not sold the airport to GMR — it still holds a share. GMR must not act unilaterally,” he added. Later, speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant clarified that the recent parking fee hike at Mopa airport does not apply to regular taxi operators but only to commercial parking of private and other commercial vehicles. “If they say blue cab parking fees have really been hiked, I am ready to revert the increase,” Sawant said. He also in formed that he had accepted the demand of Pernem taxi operators to stop rent-a-cars from operating from Mopa airport. Sawant put a precondition that all 100% of taxis must come to the counter. “Then the government is ready to listen to them,” he asserted. “There should be no harass ment of guests.” He further said he will meet a delegation of taxi operators on October 3 or 4 to resolve the matter. The protests at Mopa, coming on the heels of the month long agitation at Codar that forced the State to scrap the IIT project, underline a growing trend: grassroots mobilisation is compelling the government to roll back projects and pol icies that communities perceive as unjust or harmful. With taxi operators now holding out for a permanent rollback of the fee hike, the government faces yet another test of its ability to balance development goals with the livelihoods of Goans.
