Mumbai, March 9: In a significant development, the Maharashtra government on Monday decided to set the upper cap for the fares of app-based cabs of aggregators by approving the report of the Khatua Committee.

A Government Resolution (GR) stated that aggregators can surge their fare up to three times of the base fare of the black and yellow taxis, which is Rs 14.85 per km at present.

In its report, the Khatua panel had recommended to fix the base fare between Rs 14 and Rs 16 per km for three categories of aggregator cabs regular, mid-sized and premium, whereas the upper cap for surge pricing recommended for them is Rs 26, Rs 32, and Rs 38 per km, respectively.

The government has also accepted the new fare revision formulae recommended by the committee for the revision of fares of the black and yellow taxis and auto rickshaws.

Maharashtra has nearly 75,000 black and yellow cabs and over 10 lakh auto rickshaws. A senior Transport department official said the government has approved the Khatua panel report which will be implemented once Transport Minister Anil Parab makes a statement in the state legislature.

Chaired by retired IAS officer BC Khatua, the four-member panel had submitted its report on October 10, 2017. The panel was originally appointed to review the fare revision derived by single-member Hakim panel in 2012. Later, it was tasked to decide app-based taxi fare as well.

Currently, the minimum fares for black and yellow taxis and autorickshaw are Rs 22 and Rs 18 for first 1.5 km, respectively. Beyond the 1.5 km, the fare for taxis goes up to Rs 15 per km and Rs 12 for auto rickshaws, respectively.