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In a bold and revealing move, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik uncovered the illegal operation of bike taxi services in Mumbai, despite being assured by senior transport officials that no such unauthorized services were active in the city. The incident unfolded when Sarnaik was told by a senior official that illegal bike taxis were not functioning anywhere in Mumbai. Rather than accepting the claim without scrutiny, the minister decided to test the reality on the ground. Using the Rapido app and a pseudonym, he booked a ride from the Mantralaya (state secretariat) to Dadar. To the minister's astonishment, a bike arrived at his pickup point within ten minutes. Upon meeting the rider, Sarnaik identified himself and addressed the issue directly."I am the Transport Minister. These rules are for your benefit," Sarnaik told the surprised rider. He then offered Rs 500 as fare, stating, “You came here, for that I am giving you Rs 500.” However, the rider declined to accept the money.Importantly, no punitive action was taken against the driver. “We will not gain anything by filing a case against a poor person like you,” the minister said compassionately. “But the people behind the illegal operation should be punished. That is our intention.”This act of self-investigation has raised serious questions about the credibility and transparency of the transport department. Despite Sarnaik's direct experience, the officials had previously claimed in official responses that there were no operational unauthorized bike taxi apps in Mumbai or other cities across the state.Currently, the Maharashtra government has not granted any official permission to app-based bike taxi aggregators. The recently introduced e-bike policy permits only electric bike taxi operators that follow specific regulatory norms to function in cities with populations over one lakh. However, the policy has yet to be fully notified, leaving such services in legal limbo and technically unauthorized. In fact, just last month, the office of the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner filed an FIR at Azad Maidan police station against Rapido and Uber for allegedly running bike taxi services without permission.This episode has turned the spotlight on regulatory enforcement and raised questions about possible complicity within the department. With the transport minister himself exposing the loopholes, all eyes are now on what disciplinary action will follow against the officials who provided misleading information.

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