VASCO
Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho on Monday said he was trying to provide direct relief to taxi drivers by seeking to waive off 50% charges to install taxi meters.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion of his birthday, Godinho said he has even spoken to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and is also trying to move a file in this regard.
"We are in the process of providing taxi meters free of cost to taxi operators, in the sense that taxi operators get 50 percent of the meter cost within three weeks of installation and the balance 50 percent is given at the end of the year.”
“On my Birthday, I want to inform the taxi operators that we are now trying to do it in such a way that they will not have to pay the 50 percent while fixing the meters, while the remaining 50 percent will be given back to them at the end of the year.”
“In this way, we are trying to give them direct relief of 50 percent on meter installation. I have spoken to the CM and was supposed to announce it in the demands on the last day of the assembly as well. I am already in the process of moving a file by next week,” Godinho added.
Stating that he was aware of the plight of the taxi operators as there was no business during the pandemic and tourists had only just begun arriving in the State, the minister however requested them to affix the digital meters at the earliest.
Godinho informed that due to a financial crunch, the transport department could not start work on the Transport Bhavan.
“We got electric buses and the next challenge is to fix stations to electrically charge these buses. We are in the process of setting up these stations and while we have 50 electric buses, we may get 200 more electric buses.”
AIRPORT TAXI COUNTER: Stating that the taxi counter at Dabolim Airport is being transferred to the transport department, Godinho said yellow-black taxis would get two counters at Airport as they are the main stakeholders at the airport.
“We ensured they did not have to pay road taxes and other charges amid the pandemic and we waived off almost all charges," said Godinho.
