Decision to be taken after studying related policies of neighbouring states
Shillong, Sep 23: The state government has asked tourist taxi operators to maintain status quo until a decision is taken to resolve their grievances over plying of outside vehicles to tourist spots in Meghalaya.
“Protest should not be there since discussion is on. We are together and it was a very fruitful meeting and hopefully there will be a positive outcome in the coming days,” Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Transport Sniawbhalang Dhar told reporters after a meeting with All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxis Association (AKMTTA) here on Tuesday.
“We will try (to resolve the issue) at the earliest possible time,” the minister said while assuring AKMTTA, which had launched protest seeking restrictions on outside vehicles, of trying to resolve their issues after studying policies of neighbouring states in this regard.
Dhar said the government has appealed to tourist taxi associations from both Assam and Meghalaya not to disturb movement of any vehicles as “it seems the talks went in the right decision”.
Acknowledging importance of the issue raised by the AKMTTA, he said, “We need some time to examine the pros and cons so that there is no legal problem.”
Asserting that both the parties are on the same page, he said they have agreed to work together to come up with a concrete decision.
Dar said, as requested by AKMTTA, the government has agreed to study the policies of neighbouring states, and also Sikkim, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, to determine the best approach for resolving the issues faced by Meghalaya tourist taxis.
“We have assured them that we will discuss with a few neighbouring states and we will compare with their policies and come to the right decision,” he said.
The Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Transport have been instructed to coordinate with other states to compare policies and come up with a decision that works for Meghalaya, he added.
The minister said AKMTTA had demanded for a policy to ensure that local people benefit from tourist spots adding that the demand is under consideration of the government.
