The Transport department is unlikely to take a hasty decision on issuing State permits to autorickshaws, as the prominent union in the sector, the Kerala State Auto Taxi and Light Motor Workers Federation affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), has asked Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar to convene a meeting of stakeholders before taking a final call on the matter.
The Minister agreed to hold a meeting with the office-bearers of the unions in the sector before taking a final decision, said the federation officer-bearers.
K.S. Sunilkumar, general secretary of the federation, said the decision to grant State permits to autorickshaws would have far-reaching consequences.
Workers divided
The workers in the sector were divided over the issue, he said. While the rural autorickshaw workers hailed the decision, those in the city limits did not favour it. There would be up to 70% hike in tax and insurance premium of autorickshaws once State permit was issued. Also, tension might arise among autorickshaw workers if a hasty decision was taken without studying the matter, said Mr. Sunilkumar.
Autorickshaws are designed for short journeys, and the vehiclesโ body is not feasible for long-distance travel. At present, there are restrictions on autorickshaws from rural limits operating in cities. Once autorickshaws are issued State permits, the city roads are likely to be flooded with autorickshaws from neighbouring towns and villages, causing chaos and tension on the road.
The federation had asked the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) to allow autorickshaws registered in one district to travel at least 30 km into the neighbouring district.ย
โWe are not against issuing State permits to autorickshaws on a demand basis, but issuing permits indiscriminately to all the three-wheelers is unscientific,โ said Mr. Sunilkumar.
Guidelines
The MVD officials maintained that a committee needed to be constituted to frame guidelines for issuing permits to autorickshaws. A decision on this would be taken after a meeting between the representatives of the unions and the Minister. The decision to issue State permits was taken by the State Transport Authority, acting on a plea submitted by a section of autorickshaw workers in Kannur district.
