MARGAO
Amidst uproar and allegations that the SGPDA did not accept revised offers for payment of Rs 17 lakh for the sopo collection contract, the PDA on Wednesday decided in favour of outgoing contractor Milagres Fernandes to collect the sopo fees till the finalisation of the sopo tender.
While SGPDA Chairman, MLA Wilfred D’Sa told the media after the meeting that Milagres has bagged the contract to collect the sopo fees @ Rs 15.50 lakh per month till the finalisation of the tender, MLAs Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai said they have put up a dissent note at the meeting, demanding that the contract be awarded to the highest bidder.
The SGPDA witnessed an uproar after the secretary of the Margao Wholesale Market Association came to submit an application with a revised offer to pay Rs 17 lakh per month to the PDA for sopo collection. The PDA office did not accept the application, triggering an uproar before it was accepted around the time when the PDA meeting was scheduled to take place at around 2.30 pm.
While MLAs Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai insisted at the meeting that the PDA accept all applications offering the highest amount, the PDA Chairperson said Milagres has bagged the contract after his offer of Rs 15.50 lakh was the highest offer, over and above the Rs 15 lakh offer made by the wholesale market association.
When questioned how come the PDA has not accepted the revised offer of Rs 17 lakh made by the market association, D’Sa shot back saying, “The market association’s offer came after 11 am when the PDA was scheduled to meet to discuss the issue. The revised offer would have been accepted if it had come before 11 am and before the meeting agenda was finalised. Since the association made the offer after 1.30 pm, the PDA had to take cognizance of the market association’s initial offer of Rs 15 lakh and the outgoing sopo contractor’s offer of Rs 15.50 lakh before deciding in favour of Milagres Fernandes.”
Both Kamat and Sardesai has warned that causing loss of revenue to the body may invite action from the Vigilance, with Sardesai even saying the PDA should have floated a short tender to ensure there’s no revenue loss to the body.
By evening, the PDA allotted the work of collecting the sopo fees in the wholesale fish market to Milagres Fernandes after he deposited the amount of Rs 15.50 lakh with the PDA.
