MARGAO
The fate of South Goa Planning and Development Authority’s Rs 3.88 crore wholesale fish market sopo fee collection tender remains uncertain with the government rejecting the SGPDA’s request to relax the controversial condition that the agency, bidding for the tender, should have fishing business/ activities for at least 10 years with a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore and above.
Given the situation, the SGPDA has decided to further postpone the tender till December 29, as the Planning body is expected to again knock the doors of the government to waive off the 10 years fishing experience made mandatory for the bidders participating in the tendering process.
The SGPDA was scheduled to open the tender on December 12, hoping the government will give a positive reply to its request to relax the tender condition mandating the agencies, participating in the bid, to have fishing business/activities for at least 10 years with a turnover of over Rs 1.5 crore.
“Our proposal to the government to relax the condition of fishing business experience has not found favour with the government. We will again move the government to see reason over the clause and relax the same. Hence, we have decided to further postpone the tendering process to December 29”, informed SGPDA Chairman, MLA Krishna Daji Salkar.
He said the SGPDA had taken the decision to approach the government with a plea to relax the condition of 10 years experience in fishing business after prospective bidders raised their objection to the pre-bid meeting in September last. “We will try and convince the government not to insist on the 10 year fishing experience clause for the bidders since the PDA members as well as the bidders had all felt that the fishing experience clause have nothing to do with the sopo fee collection tender. Hence, we will approach the government again”, Salkar said.
Asked how would the SGPDA go about the tender on December 29 if the government again rejects the PDA request to relax the experience clause condition, Salkar said the SGPDA will take a right decision at the right time.
After endless delays over the tendering of the wholesale fish market sopo collection fees tender, wherein the matter had even gone to the High Court, the SGPDA had around September last floated the tender for sopo collection fees.
Eyebrows were immediately raised over the sopo fee tender, more so when the PDA had eyed on huge revenue amounting to Rs 3.88 crore by way of sopo collection fees from private contractors in the PDA wholesale fish market for the next 12 months.
What had raised eyebrows over the amount as he bare fact that while the SGPDA was expecting Rs 3.88 crore revenue from the bidders, the Planning body had never collected even half this amount over the years when it has been collecting the sopo fees departmentally, throwing up questions in certain quarters whether some of the conditions such as a 10 year fishing business experience were deliberately inserted to put spokes in the tendering process.
