Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 18: High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has condemned the Union Territory administration for failing to curb exorbitant fares being charged from tourists by taxi operators and directed that authorities should ensure that there is no traffic chaos created in the township of Pahalgam and other tourist attractions around it.
“It is unthinkable that the taxi operators registered with the Department of Tourism in the Kashmir valley could still charge exorbitant rates and fleece tourists. This court is at pains to observe that the respondents have failed to regulate charging of rates by the taxi operators. It is unthinkable in this era of digital world that the taxi operators who are registered with the Department of Tourism, can still charge exorbitant rates and fleece the tourists,” Justice Sanjeev Kumar said.
High Court further said, “tourism authorities must rise to the occasion and put in place measures like making a provision for prepaid taxis, so that no tourist operator would dare to charge a rate higher than what is fixed by the Department of Tourism”, adding “the authorities should also be well within their right to cancel the registration of taxi operators found to have charged a rate higher than the one fixed by the competent authority. This, however, may be done by the competent authority after providing an opportunity of being heard to the said operators”.
The High Court was hearing a petition moved by the tourist taxi stands of Pahalgam against the Director Tourism, Kashmir’s decision to allow additional taxis from other recognized stands of the valley to operate in the area, which is a major tourist attraction in South Kashmir.
The petitioners told the court that authorities have restricted the registration of tourist taxis with the petitioner-stands to only 600 vehicles and the permission to operate taxis from other recognized stands would create a traffic chaos in Pahalgam and its adjoining areas like Aru Valley, Betaab Valley and Chandanwari.
The High Court found that the authorities had taken the decision to allow taxis from other stands to operate in the area due to complaints from tourists that exorbitant rates were being charged by the vehicles of the two stands in Pahalgam. The court added that authorities seem to have forgotten that taxis can operate only in areas for which they hold the permit.
It also noted that Pahalgam Development Authority, in another proceeding, had informed a Division Bench that no commercial vehicle, except the ones registered with the taxi stands, shall be allowed to ply from Pahalgam to Aru or Chandanwari.
“This petition is accordingly disposed of by providing that the respondents shall not permit any taxi operator to operate on a route for which it does not hold the valid permit for plying the vehicles from Pahalgam to Aru Valley, Betab Valley, Chandanwari etc. and other tourist destinations, within the jurisdiction of Pahalgam Development Authority”, High Court ordered.
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