MARGAO
No untoward incident took place at the Margao wholesale fish market on Tuesday morning, but the day ended with the SGPDA losing revenue to the tune of Rs 30,000 since neither the PDA nor the sopo contractor collected fees from the dozens of fish-laden vehicles that entered the market.
Fatorda police were deployed in strength at the wholesale fish market since the wee hours of the day as a precautionary measure since the wholesale fish traders had resolved not to pay the fees to the sopo contractor from Tuesday.
The sopo contractor Milagres Fernandes and his army of workers, who are drafted to collect fees from the fish vehicles, were conspicuous by their absence in the market in the morning. And, no SGPDA official was around to collect the sopo fees from the vehicles, as a result of which there was no collection of revenue from the market on Tuesday.
Given that the sopo contractor was paying Rs 9 lakh to the SGPDA every month, the PDA has lost revenue to the tune of Rs 30,000 on Tuesday.
And, given that the planning body has no wherewithal and mechanism in place to collect the revenue departmentally, officials do not rule out the possibility of a loss of revenue from sopo collection in the coming days.
Incidentally, SGPDA Member Secretary Ranjit Borkar had till Monday evening insisted there’s no bar on the sopo contractor to collect fees from the fish vehicles from Tuesday on the plea the High Court has granted an extension of time for the PDA till January 5 to complete the sopo tendering process.
The SGPDA, however, decided that the sopo contactor should not collect the fees as a matter of abundant caution since the High Court was not very specific in respect of the extension of time for the sopo contractor to collect the fees.
The fish traders under the banner of Margao wholesale fish market association had told the PDA member Secretary on Monday that they would not hand over the sopo fees to the contractor from Tuesday as per the High Court order.
Given the development on Tuesday, questions are being raised as to who will collect the sopo fees from the wholesale fish market with officials of the SGDPA in private saying the planning body has no wherewithal to collect revenue from the fish trucks entering the market.
“Since the wholesale fish market starts in the wee hours of the day at 3 am, it is near possible for the PDA staff to descend in the market and collect the sopo fees. The mater will be placed before the PDA meeting for a decision”, informed a PDA official.
