MARGAO
The tug of war between the Margao Wholesale Market Association and the sopo contractor to outwit each other in order to grab the wholesale fish market sopo fee collection contract with offers ranging from Rs 15-17 lakh has thrown up a question or two for the South Goa Planning and Development Authority “ whether the Planning body failed to cash in on the revenue running to lakhs of rupees over the last several months just because of the inordinate delay in tendering the sopo contract?
In fact, what has been feared all along seemed to have come true and has come as an eye opener that the delay in tendering the wholesale fish market sopo fee collection contract has cost the PDA dearly in terms of revenue.
Otherwise, consider this. SGPDA Chairman, MLA Wilfred D’Sa has been on record saying the sopo contractor has been paying an amount of Rs 9 lakh every month to the PDA towards sopo collection fees. The unfolding developments at the SGPDA over the last two days, wherein two parties jostled to bag the sopo collection contract till the finalisation of the ongoing tendering process, only goes to show that the PDA coffers would have been richer by several lakhs of rupees had the Planning body tendered the sopo collection fees months ago.
The Wholesale Fish Market Association had offered to pay an amount of Rs 15 lakh to the PDA, even offering to pay Rs 17 lakh per month to the PDA in order to bag the contract. That the existing contractor has finally bagged the contract for Rs 15.50 lakh goes to show that the PDA will now be richer by an additional Rs 6.50 lakh considering the fact the contractor till date was paying Rs 9 lakh to the PDA.
The moot question that remains unanswered is why was the SGPDA not prompt all these months to tender the sopo fee collection and plug the leakage of revenue from the wholesale fish market.
Take note, the existing sopo contractor had been paying Rs 9 lakh per month to the PDA, the highest payment in the history of the wholesale fish market, after the SGPDA revised the sopo fees on the fish vehicles entering the wholesale fish market by levying fees on hourly basis.
Questions are now being raised in the corridors of the civic body how come the sopo contractor and the SGPDA had reached the conclusion that the contractor should pay the PDA only Rs 9 lakh and not more. This question assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that the same contractor has now been awarded the sopo contract for Rs 15.50 lakh per month, around Rs 6.50 lakh more than what he was paying to the PDA all these months.
And, if one goes by the offer made by the Margao Wholesale Fish Market Association to pay Rs 17 lakh per month, it is evident that the PDA wholesale fish market has been generating revenue almost double the amount that was being paid to the PDA all these months.
SGPDA Chairman, MLA Wilfred D’Sa, however, attributed the delay in tendering the wholesale fish market sopo collection contract to a case pending before a Margao Civil Court.
“Since the proceedings were pending in the court filed by the sopo contractor, the PDA could not tender the contract since the matter was subjudice. Now, the PDA has floated the tender on the directions of the High Court,” he added.
Finally, PDA floats tender for maintenance & levy collection
Thanks to the High Court’s direction, the SGPDA has finally floated the tender for the maintenance and levy collection of the PDA’s wholesale fish market at an estimated cost of Rs 1.50 crore.
The last date of online submission of the tender is January 17 evening. The tender will be opened online on January 18 at the office of the SGPDA Member Secretary.
Apart from sopo collection, the contractor has been made fully responsible for the maintenance and cleanliness of the SGPDA wholesale fish market premises which shall be strictly ensured by regular cleaning and sweeping and also periodic washing of the market with water tankers.
