PANAJI
The Government of Goa placed before the High Court an order it has issued making digital meters compulsory for taxis, but instead sought until the month end to finalise suppliers and standards for the taxi meters and a further indefinite period to implement its own order.
The Court granted the government only two weeks to finalise the standards and tender process. When the matter came up for hearing, the Advocate General placed before the Court an order issued by Secretary (Transport) which stated that the government approved the "fixation of digital fare meters with GPS and printer in tourist taxis plying in the State of Goa."
However the Government in the same order did not give any date by which it would be implemented and instead said it would be done "after (the) Department of Transport finalizes the standards of type of Digital Meters with GPS and printers to be fixed in the taxis with the approval of State Transport Authority and Government of Goa in consultation with Department of Weights and Measures (legal metrology) and after all technical modalities in this regard are finalized."
Explaining the second paragraph of the order, the Advocate General said that the "implementation would have to wait until the standards of type of Digital Meters with GPS and Printers is finalized and thereafter an entire tender process will be to be completed.
The Advocate General sought time up to end of November 2017 for fixing the standard of type of Digital Meters and other technical requirements.
However, the advocate for the petitioners, opposed this saying that "such a long time only fixing of the standard is not required as it is a minor technical matter."
The division bench of the High Court, agreed with the petitioners.
"We are also confident that the Respondent- State, considering the competency of its manpower, if it applies its mind to the issue at hand, can easily finalise the standard of type of Digital Meters with GPS and Printers within a period of two weeks. The standard thus shall be finalised within two weeks," the High Court ruled.
