MARGAO
Lack of transparency and utter failure by successive officials of the planning body to put in place transparent and full-proof tendering mechanism for the collection of sopo fees from the wholesale fish market has come back to haunt the South Goa Planning and Development Authority.
A day after the SGPDA resolved to terminate the existing contractor and to collect sopo departmentally, the existing contractor Milagres Fernandes kicked up a row by claiming though he was handing over a huge collection of fees to the PA of SGPDA Chairman, MLA Wilfred D’Sa, the receipt issued to him did not reflect the same.
D’Sa, however, dismissed the allegations made by Milagres, demanding to know why the contractor has made the claims only when the PDA has set in motion the process to terminate him as a sopo contractor.
The Chairman further demanded to know the fate of the amount collected from the fish cutters and fish vendors if the contractor has claimed that he has deposited the fees collected from the fish vehicles entering the wholesale fish market.
“The PDA will come out with a detailed reply on the allegations raised by the contractor,” he added.
Meanwhile, Milagres told the media what he feared all along over leakage of sopo revenue in the PDA has come true.
He produced receipts before the media to drive home the point that though he was collecting huge sopo fees for the PDA, the receipts do not bear the actual amounts.
For instance, Milagres claimed that he had submitted total fees amounting to Rs five lakh for July, but he was issued a receipt of only Rs 92,000. Similarly, he claimed that while he had handed over an amount of Rs 11 lakh to the PDA, he was issued a receipt of only Rs 5.5 lakh.
When quizzed by the media, Milagres made direct allegations claiming the money was handed to the Chairman’s PA. He also questioned the PDA for engaging around 20 persons and making the payments when the job of sopo fee collection was being undertaken by him with just five-six workers.
“There ought to be an inquiry into the entire issue, right from the issuing of receipts showing less revenue and the enrollment of manpower and payment of his fees,” he demanded.
Milagres further made a plea to Goans to come and sell fish in the wholesale fish market as the SGPDA has now decided to allow the box to box sale of fish in the market. “Hundreds of Goans are selling fish along the roadsides. I appeal to my brethren to come and sell the fish in the wholesale fish market which belongs to the local people.”
