The Meghalaya government has directed the Director of Tourism to form a special committee that includes representatives from tourism, law enforcement, police, state administration, and other relevant agencies. Importantly, key stakeholders such as taxi associations will also be part of this effort. The committee’s goal is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the tourism sector, with a focus on how the influx of tourists impacts the taxi industry, and to propose effective solutions.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma revealed that this action follows a formal letter from the he All-Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxis Association (AKMTTA), highlighting their concerns.
“I have directed the director of tourism to form a small committee where we have members from the tourism, the law , police, the state administration and other departments concerned and more importantly, the stakeholders themselves to really come up with the full comprehensive analysis of, what this entire sector, and how the taxis are being impacted,” said the Chief Minister.
Sangma emphasized that the government is well aware of the challenges and is seeking practical solutions.
“What are the suggestions and solutions that we have in front of us? How many taxis are there? How many tourists are coming in? So we want to come out with a decision once we are able to really assess the situation, in a detailed manner and give a fair chance to all the stakeholders to express their concerns about this issue,” Sangma said.
The Chief Minister highlighted the importance of a collaborative approach and said, “We want to ensure that all stakeholders, especially taxi drivers and associations, have the chance to express their concerns and provide input. The committee will explore potential solutions and assess the possible reactions to the measures we might take. We need to be prepared for any outcomes.”
Sangma confirmed that the committee has already been notified and will begin its work promptly. ” The director of tourism, and he will be co-opting members as I said, more importantly, the taxi association and drivers themselves. Bring them on board, discuss with them in detail what exactly the issues are, what the proposals are? What are the options that we had in front of us? What steps would, you know, could we take, what would be the reaction to the steps that we may take? If those reactions do take place, you know, are we ready for those reactions or not?”
He stressed the need to consider every aspect, “So, it’ll require all these aspects of it, how many taxi drivers are there registered, unregistered? How many people are impacted? So all those aspects need to be really looked into before we can really come to a conclusive decision.
The Chief Minister concluded by expressing optimism that the committee will meet soon and submit its report, “So, I’m hopeful that that the directors committee will very shortly meet everybody in submit report quickly to us and post that I will definitely be calling the different stakeholders and discussing and will find how we will be able to move forward in this entire direction.”