PANAJI: Urging taxi operators to give up their agitation, transport minister Mauvin Godinho said that the government is ready to sit with them on Tuesday to discuss their demands. Godinho also hinted that the government may partially give in to the demands of the taxi unions and remove the GoaMiles counter at Goa International Airport.
At the same time, Godinho said that the taxi operators cannot dictate terms to the government. The taxi operators have been on strike for six days at Azad Maidan, with their family members joining them on Wednesday.
“The agitating taxi operators, I appeal to them to meet the government on Wednesday at 4.30pm and let us try to find a solution together,” Godinho said. “But you cannot put any conditions on the government. It has to be unconditional. They cannot say scrap the GoaMiles first and then they will come for talks.”
Godinho blamed his cabinet colleagues for creating a situation where the taxi operators are upset with the app-based taxi aggregator GoaMiles. He said that inter-departmental conflicts were the reason why the government has found it difficult to resolve the issue.
“Transportation is the transport department’s business. A few years earlier, a corporation run by another department started GoaMiles. It was my view at that time too, that the transport department should run the service. This has created confusion,” he said.
Goa Tourism Development Corporation helped set up GoaMiles.
The app-based taxi aggregator also operates a counter at the Goa International Airport, which was allotted by the Airports Authority of India to GTDC. Goa Airport director Gagan Malik has informed the government that it is not possible to transfer the counter being used by GoaMiles to the transport department. GTDC will have to surrender the counters after which AAI will begin the allotment process for the counter and hand it over to the transport department.
The transport minister said that being an app-based taxi aggregator, GoaMiles should not be permitted to have a physical presence at the airport. “They cannot get a counter at the airport to solicit customers. This means that GoaMiles has totally flouted the rules and regulations under which they were granted permission to operate. Because they flouted the rules, they will not remain at Goa airport, I am specifically saying this.”
Godinho said that scrapping GoaMiles would be detrimental and would be counter productive if GoaMiles approached the courts. “If tomorrow we issue an administrative order to scrap GoaMiles, they will go to court and get a stay and it will be much worse for taxi operators,” he said.
He also said that the transport department is ready to provide financial assistance to taxi operators if they plan to start their own app-based taxi service.
He subtly blamed former tourism minister Nilesh Cabral for allowing GoaMiles to operate. He took potshots at Calangute MLA Michael Lobo for making statements on the issue.