SDA’s café run by contractor without depositing money: With MCC in place, SDA has no authority to allot contracts : CEO
Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA) has allowed a contractor to run a cafe and restaurant at Gagangir in violation of the regulations, which has caused a loss of over Rs. one crore to the state exchequer.
On February 29, 2024, a tender was called for the lease of a cafe and restaurant (Mughal Resorts), car parking, and camping site at Gangangeer Sonamarg. A security deposit of Rs. 20,000 was made mandatory with the tender. The bidding conditions were fixed at Rs.2.20 lakh.
The last date for submission of bids was fixed at 4 o’clock on March 16 and on the same day, the tender was uploaded on the online portal, after which several contractors participated.
Reliable sources said that the bid for this cafeteria in the tender was Rs. 30 lakh 60 thousand. According to the rules, this amount was to be deposited by the successful bidder in go with Sonamarg Development Authority; however, despite taking possession of the café, the successful contractor has not deposited any amount so far which has not incurred losses to SDA but also the act goes against the rules and regulations.
According to the rules, if the successful contractor fails to Deposit the amount in one go, then it is mandatory to give the tender to another bidder who falls second in line.
In 2019, this cafe, camping site and car parking were allotted for a year to a contractor who approached the court in 2020 claiming he suffered losses during the COVID period and thus his business duration should be extended. The court had ordered to Sonamarg Development Authority not to interfere with the business of that contractor and some more time should be given to him.
The SDA called for a tender after 4 years, in which the said cafeteria owner was also declared successful. However, the contractors who participated in this bid say that if this cafe was running without a tender for the last 5 years and ‘SDA’ was losing millions of rupees, then why did the SDA call for a tender?
Chief Executive Officer of SDA Farooq Ahmad Baba said that in the Model Code of Conduct, the SDA does not have the authority to allot any type of contract, however, he did not answer satisfactorily how and why this cafeteria has been running illegally and allotted to one who has not deposited money. [KNT]
