MARGAO
The Congress party has slammed the Konkan Railway Corporation and the government over what it described as deceptive tactics that deprive land losers of self-employment opportunities at railway stations along the Konkan Railway route.
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Savio Coutinho alleged that self-employment opportunities were being denied to land losers despite them being accorded Priority 1 status in tenders for tea stalls at Margao railway station.
He said two tea stalls, one each on Platforms 1 and 2, had been tendered with priority given to land losers. However, applicants were required to have a turnover of Rs 25 lakh in a similar business for three years, a valid GSTIN, a bank solvency certificate of Rs 23 lakh and a proprietorship firm.
Coutinho questioned how a farmer whose land had been acquired could meet such financial eligibility criteria. He alleged that the Central government and Konkan Railway were “doing business at the cost of land losers”.
He also criticised the leasing of prime land on the southern side of Margao railway station to a private contractor, who, he alleged, had built shops and restaurants and rented them out at unaffordable rates, benefiting non-Goans.
Citing a recent tender for a restaurant at Thivim railway station, Coutinho said the reserve price was Rs 10 lakh but the requirement of a turnover of crores of rupees kept Goan bidders out, with a non-Goan eventually securing the tender.
Land losers Clifford Dias, Edward Laurenco, Jose Fernandes and Olavo D’Costa said they had unsuccessfully sought jobs for themselves or their children and urged the government to intervene.
