Mumbai: Ride-hailing service companies Ola and Uber have applied for aggregator licenses in Maharashtra. They are following a directive of the Supreme Court and have approached Mumbai's Tardeo RTO which has jurisdiction over the entire island city.
Bharat Kalaskar, regional transport officer from Tardeo RTO, told PTI that they received applications from Ola and Uber three-four days ago. The applications are being examined and will be put up to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) for a final decision.
Both the Centre and state government have laid down guidelines to mandate those app-based companies obtain a licence. In case of violations, the government cannot properly take action. But a licence can change that.
An Uber spokesperson said that the company has applied well within the deadline set by the court. Uber currently has a provisional aggregator licence.
The Supreme Court on February 13 asked Uber India to apply for a valid licence by March 6 in order to be able to continue operating in the state. The apex court also gave the state government two weeks to decide on Uber’s application thereafter.
Until the state government notifies or compiles its draft rules, the Central Rules (Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020) would hold the field.
"You (Uber) apply for a licence or adhere to guidelines ... You cannot operate under an interim order of the court. You cannot work as an aggregator without a licence and that is a statutory mandate... We are of the view that interim order permitting them to operate without licence cannot stand, as an aggregator cannot work in absence of licence. Uber to apply for a licence within a period of three weeks, on or before March 6, 2023," said the top court bench.
"The indecision of the state government leads to uncertainty in the business of aggregators, which is best avoided. We also don't want Uber to come to a halt. You must decide quickly. Problems arise as you don’t make rules," said CJI DY Chandrachud to the Maharashtra government counsel.