MARGAO
Picking holes in the controversial Goa Transport Aggregators Guidelines 2025, Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva on Thursday urged the government to forthwith withdraw the aggregator guidelines published in the Official Gazette and evolve a solution by taking the tourism stakeholders into confidence.
Taxi operators from across Goa called on Benaulim MLA Venzy and Velim MLA Cruz at Benaulim as part of their interactions with MLAs. After the interaction, the Benaulim MLA told the media that the government should have discussed the guidelines with the coastal MLAs before publishing it in the gazette. He further pointed out that the government did not deem it fit to consult the opposition MLAs for their say in the matter.
Saying the guidelines are not acceptable to the AAP, Venzy said the government has not followed the proper procedure before bringing the guidelines. “We strongly demand that the government forthwith withdraw the guidelines from the gazette since it has been brought hurriedly with June 20 as the deadline. The government has not taken the Goan taxi operators into confidence before coming out with the guidelines. The draft should have been discussed with the operators and the MLAs before publishing in the gazette,” he said.
Venzy also urged hotels in the Salcete coastal belt to support local taxi operators, stating that these drivers have contributed significantly to Goa’s tourism industry.
“These taxi operators have helped the hotels along the Salcete coastal belt to grow over the years. They are part of the tourism stakeholders. Hence, it is now the turn of the hotel industry to back the taxi operators and save their livelihood,” he said.
Velim MLA Cruz Silva also echoed similar sentiments, saying the rights of Goan taxi operators need to be fully protected. Demanding immediate withdrawal of the gazette, Cruz said he would raise the issue in the forthcoming session of the Goa Assembly in support of the taxi operators.
Leaders of the taxi owners clarified that their ongoing exercise is not aimed at pressurising the MLAs but to explain to them why the guidelines need to be dropped. “The government can come out with better guidelines after taking the stakeholders into confidence,” the taxi operators said.
