MARGAO
The controversial sopo tender floated by the Margao Municipal Council with three-year experience clause has gone abegging with not a single bidder turning up to take the bid fixed with an upset price of Rs 83.86 lakh.
In the given situation, the MMC has been left with no option than to continue to collect the sopo fees departmentally. The MMC, however, may be required to answer the moot question “ how come the civic body invoked the three-year experience clause yet again when the Municipal lawyer has submitted a legal opinion that the experience clause runs contrary to the rules in force.
What’s interesting to note is that barring the Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira, almost all the City Fathers had vetoed the experience clause at the last Council meeting. That’s not all. Even MMC Chief Officer Rohit Kadam had made a categorical statement at the Council meeting that the Municipal lawyer’s opinion does not support the experience clause in the sopo tender.
Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that leave alone the auction, no bidder is believed to have approached the civic body for the auction forms and submit the bids. “We have no idea why the bidders have stayed away from the sopo collection tender. Not even one tender form was taken by any of the bidders,” informed MMC officials.
Officials are trying to figure whether the experience clause has kept away many prospective bidders from participating in the tender or simply the upset price pegged at a whopping Rs 83.86 lakh (excluding GST).
The MMC was scheduled to ink an agreement with the new sopo contractor on September 1 and the agreement was to remain in force for a year till August 31, 2023. “We have no idea whether the sopo bidders have stayed away because of the experience clause or whether MMC’s plans to exclude the feast fairs from the sopo contract,” the official added.
Last time round, a lone sopo bidder had placed his bids for the auction, but instead of awarding him the contract, the file was sent to the government for approval, before the MMC went in for the fresh auction.
In view of the unfolding developments, the MMC has been left with no option than to collect the sopo fees departmentally. MMC officials are on record saying that the sopo collection has hit a low via departmental collection, with officials fearing further loss of revenue to the civic body with no bidders coming forward for the auction.
