The news report ‘Minister Backs Goa Miles, Slams Traditional Taxis’ (TGE, July 19) is a serious matter that cannot be glossed over easily by the Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, considering that the Goa government has lost 5 crores in the past 5 years due to the failure of private taxi operators to pay taxes, and the government is already in the red with a fiscal deficit of a whopping 27,000 crores plus. What it means in reality is that 18,000 private taxi operators in the State are free to ply their taxis without paying any taxes or GST to the Goa government, while the government remains a mute spectator.
Secondly, there is nothing praiseworthy about app operators Goa Miles contributing faithfully to the government’s kitty by regularly paying their taxes, as this is a mandatory requirement by law. By now, the Transport Department should have put in place an affordable and uniform taxi system in Goa. Unfortunately, this is far from being realised as taxi operators continue to call the shots and have their say.
