Around 4,000 autorickshaw drivers from Noida and Ghaziabad will not ply their vehicles from Saturday to protest against the Uttar Pradesh government’s delay in renewing an NCR agreement that allows autorickshaws and taxis to move freely across State borders.
A drivers’ union has moved the court, which issued a notice to the Centre to resolve the issue within 10 days. UP, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan are yet to renew the Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement.
Chalak Association (NARCA), representing 4,000 drivers from Noida and Ghaziabad, has also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court.
The petition has been listed for hearing on October 17, said NARCA’s counsel Om Prakash Gupta.
NARCA has sought interim relief against any action against autorickshaw drivers by authorities in Delhi and other NCR States.
The move came on the back of several rounds of protests by autorickshaw drivers, who have sought extension of the agreement and, in the long term, a permanent policy that would not require renewal.
The RCTA among the four governments was signed in October 2008. However, NCR permits were issued to auto drivers only in 2014.
The agreement allowed around 17,000 autos to ferry passengers without restriction. Drivers, however, needed a signature of the transport authority from the other States on the permits. For instance, an auto registered in UP would need a counter-signature from the Delhi Transport Department to ply in the Capital.
NARCA president Lal Babu said they had to struggle to get their permits extended due to a mistake in the date of the counter-signature from the Delhi Transport Department.
“We have been submitting representations and meeting officials of UP and Delhi for past five months but to no avail. We also gave a memo to AAP leader Sanjay Singh when Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was in Noida (in September). We have not got any assurance from the Delhi Transport Department,” he said.
