MARGAO
There seemed no end to the row surrounding Margao Municipal Sopo fee collection tender.
A day after a Margao councillor demanded cancellation of the tender citing alleged irregularities, the sopo contractor Milagres Fernandes has wondered how come Municipal councillors are demanding scrapping of the tender when the sopo contract will make the civic body richer by around Rs 85 lakh.
He further pointed out that bidders, if aggrieved by the decision of the Margao Municipal Council in allotting the tender to him, can knock the doors of the court for justice. He, however, said that instead of pursing the legal path, a controversy is sought to be created so that the tender contract given to him is cancelled and scrapped.
Addressing the media, Milagres said it is indeed surprising that when he is required to pay a whopping Rs 85 lakh to the civic body by way of sopo fees collection, one of the councillor has demanded cancellation of the contract. “I have bagged the contract for a little over Rs 1 crore, including GST. Without GST, I am required to pay to the MMC Rs 85 lakh. My collection boys have reported to me that collection report is bad for the simple reason that the MMC is not allowed to collect sopo fees from vendors outside the wholesale fish market. Besides, the collection in the market is not good. Despite this, I am continuing with the sopo fee collection contract, but the councillors seem unhappy with the contract,” he said.
Without taking any names, Milagres also blamed a God Father from Fatorda for propping up people to demand cancellation of the tender, adding “if anyone feels that the tender is given to me illegally, they can very well challenge the same in the Court”.
