Shillong, Sept 23: The state government has assured to study the policies of neighbouring states and come up with a decision to address the issues faced by the local tourist taxis in the state.
The decision was taken after a meeting convened by the Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Transport Sniawbhalang Dhar with the members of the All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxis Association (AKMTTA) here on Tuesday.
After the meeting, Dhar told reporters that both parties are on the same page and have agreed to work together to come up with a concrete decision.
“Yes, it is an important issue and we need sometime to (examine) it properly on the pros and cons so that there is no legal problems. That is the decision we took today. We will try (to resolve the issue) at the earliest possible time.”
As requested by the AKMTTA, Dhar informed that the government has agreed to study the policies of neighboring states, including 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 few neighbouring states and we will compare with their policies and come to the right decision,” he said while adding that 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 said until a decision is made, the status quo will be maintained.
“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.”
Asked, the deputy CM said that AKMTTA had demanded that the government to come up with a policy to ensure that local people benefit from tourist spots adding that is under consideration of the government.
Further, Dhar said the government is appealing to tourist taxi associations from both Assam and Meghalaya that “in the meantime while discussion is on do not disturb movement and it seems it went in the right decision”.
