the goan I network
MARGAO
Exactly 17 years after the fish vendors had moved into the SGPDA’s mega fish market way back on June 25, 2001, non-payment of fees for the stalls have come to haunt the fish vendors for recovery of their huge dues aggregating a whopping Rs 90 lakh.
Even as the TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai has got the PDA retail fish market spruced up at a cost of Rs 2 crore on the lines of the Dubai fish market, he has directed the SGPDA Member Secretary Ashok Kumar to get the arrears recovered from the fish vendors for occupying the stalls since the last 17 years without clearing the stall amount pegged at Rs 97,650 per stall.
While the initial plan was to recover the arrears before the inauguration of the refurbished fish market on June 25, the TCP Minister has now told the PDA to seek an affidavit sworn in by the fish vendors promising to clear the amount within a stipulated time frame.
When the TCP Minister visited the PDA fish market to review the progress of ongoing work, a group of fish vendors called on him with a plea to give them sufficient time to clear the payments. They pointed out that since the stall amount is huge, they should be given at least one year’s time to pay the amount in monthly installments. “The vendors have approached me with a request that they should be given a year’s time to clear the payment of the stalls. I have agreed to their request, but I have told the PDA member secretary to obtain an affidavit sworn in by the vendors that they will clear the payments in monthly installments,” Sardesai added.
The TCP Minister, however, hastened to add that the fish vendors will not be charged anything extra in lieu of giving a new look to the retail market. “The Secretary, TCP has raised a query about the revenue that would be generated by the PDA retail fish market after spending Rs 2 crore on the renovation. We have no intention to levy any extra fees on the vendors, other than the routine maintenance. At the same time, the vendors should see reason and at least pay the arrears of the stalls,” he said.
SGPDA Member Secretary Ashok Kumar told The Goan that 144 stalls were allotted in the retail fish market when the market was inaugurated in 2001.
“PDA records show that barring 11 fish vendors, none of the remaining vendors have cleared the full amount. Some of the vendors have paid as low as Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000, while others have paid to the PDA Rs 10,000 and above. Added together, the total sum owed by the vendors to the PDA stands at a whopping Rs 90 lakh,” Ashok Kumar said.
Ashok Kumar further said the original plan was to recover the outstanding arrears from the vendors before the inauguration of the refurbished market on June 25, but the TCP Minister has now told the PDA to obtain an affidavit giving an undertaking to clear the arrears within a stipulated period. He also said that the PDA will now work out the outstanding figures of each of the vendors and the installment amount.
