PANJIM: RTI activist Sudip Tamankar and some taxi operators from Pernem Taluka have filed a writ petition before the High Court of Bombay at Goa, seeking directions to the State government to notify taxi stand for yellow and black taxis at the new Manohar International Airport at Mopa.
According to the petitioners, the Department of Transport was adopting dilly dallying tactics to notify taxi stand for yellow and black taxis.
They have stated that as per Master Plan for Mopa, there is requirement of nearly 1,400 taxis at Mopa Airport while, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) is also delaying the process when it is mandatory to notify a counter for yellow and black taxis at the airport as per the Motor Vehicle Act.
Besides, the State government, Department of Transport, RTA, Mopa Airport Development Authority (MADA) and GMR Goa International Airport Limited have been named as respondents.
Meanwhile, most of the taxi operators from Pernem Taluka have refused to submit applications for pre-paid blue airport taxi with a notified stand even as the government has proposed amendment to introduce blue airport taxi with identical terms and conditions of yellow and black taxis. The government had decided to give preference to unemployed youth and project affected persons from Pernem. But taxi operators have refused to fill the ‘modified’ prescribed pro forms.
However, according to the Department of Transport, about 1,300 applications have been received from interested persons from Pernem Taluka to operate pre-paid taxi at the Mopa Airport.
