Rehab plan for Victoria owners

From horses to horse power, it may be a quantum leap for operators of Mumbai's iconic Victoria horse carriages with the state government planning to rehabilitate them as taxi drivers with app-based aggregators like Ola and Uber.

The courts have asked for the buggies, which have been running on the streets since colonial times, and have also featured in movies like CID starring Dev Anand, to be phased out, and the families to be rehabilitated. The silver-coloured horse carriages, which are also decorated and lit up, are used by tourists for joyrides at Nariman Point. However, they have been blamed by animal rights groups for poor treatment of horses.

The state government is considering options like financial assistance to operators for purchasing cars to be rented out using taxi aggregators, grant of hawker licenses and skill development and a one-time financial settlement to enable a shift to other vocations.

"When we think about animals, we will also need to adopt a humanitarian approach towards these people. We must give them options that they can embrace happily," said Finance and Forests Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who heads the cabinet sub-committee. He said options including hawking licenses and financial aid for purchasing taxis were on the table for rehabilitating those dependent on the trade.

"The government can pay their share of the taxi (purchase money), while the rest can be raised through a loan. This will ensure a steady stream of monthly income," said Mungantiwar, adding that taxi aggregators could take on the remaining loan burden.

"This will be a win-win for both horses and operators," said Mungantiwar said. NGO People for Animals could also purchase the horses from carriage owners who wanted to sell them. The report will be finalised by December-end and the next meeting will be held on January 15.

Advocate Ambika Nijjar, legal advisor, People for Animals, said the rehabilitation plan would ensure "better opportunities like driving taxis and setting up stalls" for those dependent on the vocation. "Many of these horse drivers told me in private that (if they get) taxi licenses, (or) soft loans for a taxi, they are willing to drop this work," she added.

Shaikh Ismail, a Victoria owner ,rued that eventually, they stood to lose their existing vocation.