MARGAO
After the file pertaining to the tender mysteriously went missing from the office, the Margao Municipal Council has finally floated the tender for the collection of sopo fees for the remaining five months of the current financial year.
Municipal officials, however, preferred to keep their fingers crossed, saying the fate of the tender would depend on the bidders, whether they would be willing to participate in the tender for the sopo fee collection for just five months. The MMC has set Rs 30-odd lakh as the upset price for the bid.
Normally, the process for the sopo collection fee tender is set in motion well in advance before the starting of a financial year. Take note, the MMC had floated the tender, but the process could not be taken to its logical conclusion for want of bidders.
Left with no option, the MMC has been collecting the sopo fees departmentally, by deploying civic staff to mop up the sopo revenue.
Sources, however informed that the sopo revenue had dropped over the last couple of months, with officials saying the tendering of the sopo would have helped to generate the expected revenue.
Incidentally, when the MMC had prepared the file to re-float the tender, the file had mysteriously gone missing from the Municipal building. It was only after incumbent Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar issued instructions to prepare a new file, the same was complied with before floating the tender.
