SHILLONG, Sep 2: The tourist taxi drivers of the state are at their wit’s end as the government is forcing them to pay Rs 10,000 as penalty for renewal of permits which expired during the Covid-induced lockdown.
The plight of these drivers and vehicle owners came to the fore amid the government’s tall claims of tourism boom in the state.
For the past few months, they have been making rounds of the Secretariat but only to be sent back every time with an assurance that their grievances would be looked into.
The Khasi Hills Tourist Taxi Association (KHTTA), which is one of the oldest associations of the state, said the drivers and the owners of tourist taxies continued to suffer despite Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong’s assurance that they would not be penalised anymore.
“He (Tynsong) had assured us that the permits, which expired during the lockdown period, would not be penalised anymore. He said he had written to Principal Secretary Bah Synrem and he called him also in front of us to take necessary actions. However, nothing has been done even after three months,” KHTTA general secretary Bhaskar P Deb said after meeting the Deputy CM on Friday.
The Deputy CM said it was a mistake on the part of the department to charge penalty, Deb said.
“He (Tynsong) said we don’t need to pay the penalty and the government will do the needful. The commissioner said let the order be passed by the Cabinet but nothing happened on the ground,” the KHTTA general secretary said.
“We are not supposed to pay the fine of Rs 10,000 as the permit had expired during the lockdown. The order should have been issued in May 2021 but it was issued in February this year. This is not our mistake,” Deb said.
He said the problem facing the drivers and the owners is that they will not be able to make insurance claims in the event of theft or accident involving their vehicle.
The state has around 250 tourist taxi drivers and some paid the penalty after getting tired of daily harassment.
“When we go to an airport in Assam and other areas, we are forced to pay a fine of Rs 10,000-15,000 for no fault of ours. How long can we tell them to consider our case as it is in the Secretariat?” Deb said.
The association requested the state government to do the needful at the earliest as the families of its members are going through difficult times.
Meanwhile, Tynsong said, “It is more than three months that I spoke to the Transport department and now, the Cabinet memo is being prepared. The decision on the waiver off penalty has to be taken by the Cabinet and I think the Transport department is preparing it. It will be brought to the Cabinet and we will take a decision.”
