Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured the Goa Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that no final decision will be taken on the introduction of app-based taxi services in the State until a consultative meeting with all concerned stakeholders, including taxi unions and legislators, is held later this month.
Responding to concerns raised by Opposition MLAs over the Transport Department’s draft policy on taxi aggregators, Sawant clarified that the proposal is still at a preliminary stage and will not move forward without broader consensus. He informed the House that the government plans to convene a high-level discussion between August 20 and 25 to deliberate on the matter.
“No decision has been taken yet. We will hold a meeting with all stakeholders before arriving at any conclusion,” Sawant stated during the Assembly session.
Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho backed the Chief Minister’s remarks, reaffirming that the current guidelines are merely in draft form. “The interests of local taxi operators will be protected. We will proceed only after building agreement among all parties,” he added.
The issue came up during a Calling Attention motion, with Opposition members expressing apprehension over the proposed entry of national-level taxi aggregators like Uber and Ola, fearing it could disrupt Goa’s existing taxi framework dominated by local operators.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao took exception to the government’s written response to the House, claiming it appeared to favour the aggregator model rather than oppose it. “We had called for the proposal to be scrapped. Instead, the response seems to justify it,” Alemao remarked.
Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas demanded a firm assurance that the app-based aggregator model would be withdrawn completely, not just deferred.
Meanwhile, St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar alleged that Uber had already started operating in Goa without any formal permission. “I have evidence suggesting that Uber is active in the State. How can they begin operations without official approval?” he questioned.
In response, Chief Minister Sawant refuted the claim, stating unequivocally that Uber has not commenced operations in Goa.
