Taxi aggregators such as Uber, Ola or Rapido will now have to operate as per rules in Meghalaya.
The State cabinet today approved the Meghalaya Taxi Aggregator Operational Rules 2020.
As per the rules, there will be a basic license fee for taxi aggregators. A license fee of Rs 700 per year would be charged from each vehicle. Besides, they would have to pay a permit fee of Rs 200 if they are to operate from a specific location, which means a city, a district or a region.
If the taxi aggregators operate throughout the State, the license fee would be Rs 1300 and permit would be Rs 200.
As per the rules, the passenger fare for taxi aggregators is Rs 10 for the first kilometer and Rs 5 for subsequent kilometer. The holding charge will be Rs 4 for every five minute.
The rules also define the app, GPS, registration and identification of the driver.
Meanwhile, the cabinet also approved the procurement of 50 acres of land near Nongmahir Lake in Ri-Bhoi district for tourism infrastructure.
This is done to increase the overall land bank with the State government so that tourism projects can take place in the area. The government is planning water sports activities at the site and roughly an amount of Rs 10 crore is expected to be spent for this project.
The cabinet also decided to pass an ordinance to repeal the Rajitlal University Act 2011 since there was no visible move by the university to start its operation in the State.