50 new Esteems and Indigo Marinas will be flagged-off  by the chief minister.

The city will bid adieu to its iconic black-and-yellow taxis this Diwali when the Chief Minister will flag-off its newer avatar — the Maruti Esteem and Indigo Marina.

And the new face of the new face of city cabs is The Mumbai Gold Taxi Company (MGTC). Their mantra: Clean, green and affordable.

The state governenment’s plan to make the road travel as easy and comfortable as possible will finally see the light of the day this festive season, when the first batch of cabs will be introduced on to the roads.

The new cabs were to be introduced earlier, but the plans were delayed as the proposal was pending with the Regional Transport Office (RTO), which was responsible for finalising the fare structure and transfer of permits for the new models.

“On Friday, the RTO finalised the new fares at Rs15, which will later be brought back to the existing Rs13,” said Arun Sabnis, managing trustee of Fullora Foundation, an NGO working in conjunction with the government to create the MGTC and introduce the new cabs to Mumbai.

As per procedure, the existing taxi drivers must enroll themselves in the MGTC. They will have to surrender their Premier Padminis, and the proceeds from the sale — approximately Rs25,000 — will be invested in the shares of the company, thus making them stake holders. However, their permits need to be transferred to the new vehicles. “The transfer of permits for over 300 applications received by MGTC is pending with the RTO. It will take a fortnight more to complete the formalities,” Sabnis said.

Earlier, the taximen’s union was strongly against the proposal as they feared that the introduction of new taxis would open the doors to privatisation, which may lead to a loss of ownership rights.When asked whether the union members would obstruct the clearance of permits for the new cabs, Sabnis said, “Earlier union members had opposed the proposal. But now there is no fear that they would obstruct the clearances of permits. Once the clearance and No Objection Certificate is received… we will formally inaugurate it (the new taxis) at the hands of chief minister — since it is the government’s vision,” he added.