In the meeting held with the aggrieved unions on Tuesday, Fadnavis said that a committee of autorickshaw driver representatives and government officials will be constituted within a week to look into the demands. (File)A day after they called off their strike earlier scheduled for Tuesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured autorickshaw unions that the government would be taking steps in their interest.
The unions led by Mumbai Autorickshaw Taximen’s Union president Shashank Rao had, among other things, demanded a rise in minimum fare from Rs 18 to Rs 22. They had called for a strike under the banner of the Autorickshaw Chalak-Malak Kriti Samiti.
In the meeting held with the aggrieved unions on Tuesday, Fadnavis said that a committee of autorickshaw driver representatives and government officials will be constituted within a week to look into the demands. “We are positive about the demands. Not only is the committee going to solve issues but also help in setting up a welfare board and look into schemes that would benefit the drivers and owners,” he added.
After the meeting, Rao said, “We have full faith in Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who personally met with the union representatives… assurance of setting up a committee will help those in need.”
On Monday, Rao had met Transport Secretary Ashish Kumar Singh but the union had decided to proceed with the strike. A meeting with Fadnavis later on Monday evening, however, had led Rao to call off the strike. The unions had raised several demands, which they claimed, have been pending since 2017. “We want a fare hike according to Hakim Committee formula,” Rao said.
Earlier, the tariff for autorickshaws and taxis was fixed according to a report submitted by the one-man committee of former bureaucrat M A Hakeem. The erstwhile Congress-NCP government had accepted his recommendations in 2012. Among others, the report had called for a review of the fare on May 1 every year. Other than the increase in fare, the drivers have demanded implementation of various schemes, such as pensions and medical benefits under the welfare board and a crack down on illegal autorickshaws, taxis and buses plying in the city.
