IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO. OF 2012
(Lodging No. 2925/2011)
Mumbai Taximen Sangathan & Others …. Petitioners
Versus
State of Maharashtra & Others …. Respondents
I,
MADHUKAR B. JADHAV, Regional Transport Officer, Mumbai (Central) office, having
my office at Old Bodyguard Lane, Tulsiwadi, Tardeo, Mumbai 400 034 do hereby
affirm and state as under:
1.
I say that I have read a copy of
the above Writ Petition along with the annexure thereto. I have gone through
the records, files and documents pertaining to the subject matter of the above
Writ Petition and on the basis of the information derived there from. I am making this Affidavit in reply pm behalf
of the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 to oppose admission of the petition and grant of
interim reliefs to the Petitioner. I
have been authorized by the transport Commissioner, Maharashtra State to file
this Affidavit. I deny each and every
allegation in the petition which is contrary to and/or inconsistent with what
is stated by me herein below. I crave
leave of this Hon’ble Court to file a detailed affidavit at a later stage if
required.
2.
At the outset, I say that the
petition is misconceived and liable to be dismissed. The petitioners have not made out any case
for grant of the reliefs prayed for in the petition and the petition deserves
to be dismissed. In reply to the petition, on behalf of the Respondent Nos. 1
to 5, I have to state as under:
3.
With reference to Para 3(a) of
the petition, it is submitted that prepaid taxi booth at International Airport,
Sahar is being operated by the Airport Taximen Welfare Trust since 1983. The said trust is registered in the year 1984
at the Charity Commissioner’s office. The Charity Commissioner is the
controller of the said trust regarding the audit and the trustees who are
administrating the said trust. The
Respondent No. 2 to 5 are not controller of the said trust. The prepaid taxi service has been introduced
for the convenience and safety of the passengers at the international airport
who are coming to Mumbai city by airways.
4.
With reference to Para 3(b) of
the petition, most of the contents thereof pertain to Respondent Nos. 6, 7 and 12.
I say that the respondent No. 12 i.e. Airport Taximen Welfare Trust is
registered under Public Trust Act has to submit their accounts and audit report
before the Charity Commissioner. The
Charity Commissioner is the controller of the said trust. It is not the duty of the Respondent No. 2 to
5 to check and verify the income of the said trust. However, the Respondent No. 4 exercises general supervision over the
working of the said prepaid scheme. I
further submit that the Respondent No. 2 to 5 have not received any major
complaints from the passengers, regarding the working of the booth by
Respondent no. 12.
5.
With reference to Paras 3 © and
(d) of the petition, I say that the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Transport
Authority (MMRTA) has resolved to start the prepaid taxi scheme at Chatrapati
Shivaji Railway Terminus, Dadar Railway
Terminus, Mumbai Central Railway terminus, Bandra Railway Terminus, Lokmanya
Tilak Railway terminus vide Resolution No. 17/2011 dated 12.05.2011, taking
into consideration of the convenience of the passengers who are arriving at the
railway station from various places. I
say that as per the said resolution passed by the MMRTA, the Respondent No. 5,
Regional Transport Office, Mumbai (Central), has started the prepaid booths at
Mumbai Central Railway Terminus and Dadar Railway terminus. Respondent No. 4, Regional Transport Office,
Western Region has started the prepaid booths at Bandra Railway Terminus,
Respondent No. 3, Regional Transport
office, Eastern Region has started the prepaid booths at Lokmanya Tilak Railway
Terminus. The said booths are allotted to the Bhartiya Taxi Chalak Sangh at
Mumbai Central railway Terminus, Mumbai Taxi Association at Dadar Railway
Terminus, Mumbai Taxi Chalak Malak Sena at Bandra Railway Terminus and Mumbai
Taximen Union at Lokmanya Tilak Railway Terminus. I say that while allotting
the said booths, the Respondent Nos. 3
to 5 have taken into consideration the establishment and experience of taxi
unions, number of members of the said union, 3 years audit reports to check the
financial status of the said unions and the choice of the place of the booth
given by the taxi unions. I deny the
allegation of the petitioner made in Para 3(d) of the petition that the Respondent
Nos. 3 to 5 have allotted the prepaid taxi booth to their favorite taxi
union. The allotment is done as per the
parameter mentioned above. It is further
submitted that the Respondent No. 3 to 5 have entered into an agreement with
taxi union for smooth operation of the scheme and have also accepted performance guarantee to the tune of
Rs. 1 Lakh in the form of bank guarantee from the union. The agreement is for a period of one
year. It is further submitted that taxi
union is authorized to collect Rs. 10/- as service charge per trip from a
passenger for a distance of more than 4 k.m.
As per the agreement an amount which remains as balance after incurring
expenditure for running the booth is to be used for the welfare of the Taximen
and to provide facilities to passengers.
6.
With reference to Para 3 (e) and
3 (h) of the petition, I submit that the Regional transport Authority has taken
the decision to start the Prepaid Taxi
& Auto rickshaw Service at Domestic Airport, Santacruz vide Resolution No.
9/2007 on 21/02/2007. In view of the
said Resolution, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Joint
Commissioner of Police (Traffic) on 03/07/2009.
In the said meeting, it was decided that prepaid booth will be operated
by private professional agency appointed by Mumbai International Airport Pvt.
Ltd and not by any taxi union. The
minutes of the said meeting inter alia, are as under:-
“The Jt. CP
(Traffic) stated that the prepaid booth will be operated by a private
professional agency appointed by MIAL and not by any union. He asked Mr. Lokesh Uttarwar, officer of MIAL
about the total expenditure incurred so far on the computerization of prepaid
taxi scheme and the rent of the counter spaced in Terminal 1A & 1B. He further stated that the cameras will be
installed by MIAL at the pickup points as well as at the counters and ensure
that the recordings are maintained for at least for a month. Mr. Lokesh Uttarwar informed that the outlay
is to the tune of 11 lacs without taking into account the rent and salaries of
the staff”
The Joint CP
(Traffic) ruled that MIAL will not be allowed to generate income from the
prepaid taxi booth. Mr. Lokesh Uttarwar
confirmed that it is not MIAL’s desire to earn a penny out of this service and
they shall not themselves be operating the service, but would like a neutral
professional agency to do this job. Jt.
CP (Traffic) clarified that the said booth will be operated by a private
professional agency appointed by a Trust comprising of Joint Commissioner of Police
(Traffic), RTO Mumbai (West Zone). The
Sr. PI Traffic – Vakola Division (with designation) and a MIAL
representative. One member from each
union will be called to attend the periodical meeting held by the trust as an
invitee. Each union should nominate
their representative for this purpose and inform Mr. Lokesh in writing. The private agency after deducting the
operating costs (including rent for the counters, salaries and covering part of
capital investments) shall transfer the surplus amount to the trust. This corpus shall be used for the welfare of
the taxi drivers registering themselves with the Trust as operators at the
domestic airport prepaid service with full details (MDL/Badge No. Address/Bank a/c details).
The trust
will be support the needy beneficiaries registered drivers in exigencies such
as hospitalization/higher education of their children etc. as per the set rules
which will form a part of the trust document. All present agreed to this
modality of running the prepaid system.
The Jt. CP
(Traffic) thereafter asked the gathering to fix a date for starting prepaid
service at the Domestic Airport. He
further stated that he would seek the necessary approval from the Government to
allow the Jt. CP (Traffic), the RTO (West) and SPI Traffic-Vakola division to
form the trust as it is required as per the Government Service
Regulations. He further stated that
pending formation of the trust, the work pertaining to starting of prepaid
scheme should not be delayed. He
directed that the legal department of MIAL should put up the draft trust deed
for approval on the above lines and that the agency should also be finalized in
consultation with the proposed trustees.
All present unanimously agreed to start the prepaid service from 15th
July 2009 onwards. The meeting ended
with a vote of thanks. I say that as per
the decision taken the said meeting, the Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd
has started the service of prepaid taxi service.
7.
With reference to Para 3 (f) of
the petition, I deny the contention raised by the Petitioner in this Para. I say that prepaid taxi service booth at
International Airport has been allotted to the Airport Taximen Welfare Trust,
which is registered under the Public Trust Act. Prepaid taxi service booth at
Lokmanya Tilak Railway Terminus has been allotted to the Mumbai Taxi Union and
the prepaid taxi service booth at Dadar has been allotted to Mumbai taxi
Association respectively. Both the
unions are registered separately. They
have got their own separate identity.
Hence the contention raised by the Petitioner in this Para is not
correct.
8.
With reference to Para 3 (h) of
the petition, the same is replied to in Para 6 hereinabove. I further say that as per the minutes of the
meeting held on 04.07.2009 under Chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Police
(traffic), decision was taken to form a trust comprising of the Joint CP
(traffic), RTO Mumbai (west), the SPI (Traffic) Vakola Division and MIAL. It was also decided in the said meeting that
prepaid taxi booth will be operated by a private professional agency appointed
by the trust. The Joint Commissioner of
Police (Traffic) has made correspondence with the Government for obtaining the
permission for appointing Government Officers as trustees on the said
trust. The regional Transport Officer,
Mumbai (West Zone) also addressed a letter dated 01.12.2009 to the Deputy
Transport Commissioner (enforcement-1) to grant permission to work as trustee
for the said trust.
9.
With reference to Para 3 (m) of
the petition, I do not admit the contents therein. I say that if any illegal act is committed by
any Taxi driver then for the convenience of the passengers and for immediate
help, the Telephone number of the office of traffic Police is given on the slip
issued by the Respondent No. 12. It is
further submitted that if the Traffic Police finds that a taxi driver has
committed some offence or has violated any Rules, then they prosecute such
driver or recover compounding fees from them.
The matter is then referred to the Respondent Nos. 3 to 5 for
Departmental Action against the permit holder.
10.
With reference to Para 3 (n) of
the petition, I say that Respondent Nos.6, 7, 8 and 9 are registered trade
unions and Respondent No. 12 is a trust registered under Public Trust Act. The trade unions have to submit their audit
report to the Registrar of Trade Unions annually and their accounts are also
audited annually. The Respondent No. 12
is a trust and it has to submit its audit reports every year to the concerned
authority i.e. Commissioner for Charitable Trust. The Respondent No. 1 to 5 therefore do not
check the financial accounts of the Trust or Trade Unions who are operating the
prepaid taxi booths. However, the respondent No. 4 has issued a letter to
Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd and Mumbai Airport Taximen’s Welfare
Trust asking for a copy of the yearly audit reports.
11.
With reference to Para 3 (o) of
the petition, it is submitted that the MMRTA which is competent Authority to
accord approval, has approved the prepaid taxi scheme. Accordingly, at the international airport,
Airport Taximen’s Welfare Trust is operating the scheme; at the domestic
airport, MIAL is operating the scheme; at the Bandra Terminus, the Transport
Commissioner has accorded approval to the proposal submitted by Regional
Transport Office recommending the name of Mumbai taxi Chalak Malak Sena to
operate the booth.
12.
I deny the allegations made in
Para 3 (p) of the petition. I say that
the said allegations made against the Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 are false and
baseless.
13.
With reference to Para 3 (q) of
the petition, I say that the Respondent Nos.
3 to 5 exercise control over the prepaid taxi scheme by general
supervision in their respective jurisdiction. I further submit that the data
regarding the number of passengers who have taken benefit of prepaid taxi
scheme is not required by the Respondent Nos. 3 to 5. I say that the purpose of permitting prepaid
taxi service is to provide a better and secure transport to the passengers
arriving by Airways and Railways.
In
view of what is stated by me hereinabove, I respectfully say and submit that
the above Writ Petition being devoid of any merits be dismissed.
Solemnly affirmed at Bombay )
Dated this _____ day of
____________2012 )
Before me,
Associate/Asstt.
Master,
High Court,
Bombay
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