MARGAO
With no takers for the Margao Municipal Council’s Rs 1.76 crore Sopo fee collection tender, the civic body on Friday resolved to grant an extension of three months to the current contractor to collect the sopo fees for the month of April, May and June in the new financial year.
The bigger question, however, remains unanswered “ whether the Margao Municipal Council will separately collect the fees towards the allotment of stalls and sopo at the Old market feast fair or whether the feast fair fees will be inclusive of the sopo fees the current contractor will pay to the Council in the next three months.
Take note, the two Old Market feast fairs that take place in the city enriches the coffers of the Civic body by Rs 70 lakhs annually. Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar told the media after the Council meeting that the contractor will pay an amount of Rs eight lakh to the Council every month, inclusive of the fees of the old Market fair sopo fees.
Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar, however, begged to differ. He said the current contractor will pay an amount of Rs 24 lakh to the Council by way of sopo fees of the three months of April-June, adding that the MMC will separately collect the fees of the old market feast fair.
In fact, the Chief Officer asserted that the Old market feast fair is not part of the sopo fee collection contract allotted to the contractor by the MMC. “Hence, the fees of the Old market feast fair will be collected departmentally by the civic body,” the Chief Officer asserted.
Sources in the know informed that when the current sopo contactor was given the contact to collect the sopo fees for five months till March 2024, the Old market feast fair was not part of the sopo contract. “How can the Old market feast fair be a part of the existing contract. The feast fair generates revenue to the tune of Rs 35 lakh for the civic body,” Sankhwalkar asserted.
To a question, the Chief officer said the sopo fees issue was placed before the Council since there were no takers for the sopo contact despite re-tendering on two occasions. “The bidders have raised certain issues and want the civic body to address them before they place their bids. The Council has taken note of their concerns and will explore the possibility of modifying the tender conditions,” he said.
Meanwhile, the council has granted extension for the two door-to-door garbage collection agencies up to May 31, 2024 in view of the election code of conduct likely to come into force soon ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
