PANAJI: Acknowledging that the tender document of M/s Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd, a company which was awarded the work of supplying high security registration plates to the vehicle owners in the state, was not prepared as per the CPWD manual and the tender was floated suo motto, the Minister for Transport, Mr Ramakrishna Dhavalikar told the House on Tuesday that the agreement with the said company would be terminated at the earliest. 

“However, there is an arbitration clause in the tender document and if the said company goes for arbitration, the government may lose large amount of money,” he observed, pointing out that before the termination of the agreement, he will have to approach the finance department and also have legal advice in the matter.
Speaking further, Mr Dhavalikar said that the government, before finalising the new HSRP tender, would take all pros and cons, including Supreme Court directives in similar matter, into consideration, and remove existing discrepancies. The transport Minister also stated that the government will re-think about the 5-country Clause in the tender document, which demands that the supplier of the HSRPs needs to have an experience of supplying the same in at least 5 countries. “I assure the House that lowest HSRP rate would be fixed for the Goan vehicle owners,” he noted.
The Transport Minister also informed the House that the central government has recently written a letter to him, inquiring about the progress made in the implementation of the HSRP scheme in Goa.
The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, stating that the 5-country Clause is irrelevant as the countries named by M/s Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd are minor countries and supplying HSRPs to them is irrelevant for awarding such tender, further stated, “The government will definitely take a decision in the public interest.”
Earlier, the leader of the opposition, Mr Manohar Parrikar quoting a Supreme Court judgement pertaining to the supply of HSRPs by M/s Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd to the vehicle owners in West Bengal, said that the court has taken objection for supply of such plates at a cost of Rs 1,200 when the lowest bid per HSRP unit is Rs 469. “In Goa too, the people are forced to buy HSRP at a cost between Rs 1,400 and 1,500 when actually the same should have cost between Rs 400 and Rs 500,” he added.
Mr Parrikar further charged that there is a criminal fraud in awarding of the tender to M/s Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd, with a middleman sending e-mails to the representatives of the company, promising to put whatever clauses needed in the tender document. “The tender has been manipulated with footnote added, long after the document was signed by the government authorities,” he alleged, noting that the 5-country Clause was included to eliminate the competitors in the bid.
In a related question, the leader of the opposition questioned the rationale behind three state police officers travelling by air to New Delhi to bring an accused involved in supply of duplicate registration plates, to Goa. “Why did the police spend over Rs 2 lakh in air transport when summons could have been sent to the accused, especially since the crime was not serious in nature, like say a murder,” he questioned.
Stating that the cost of air travel is yet to be reimbursed, the Chief Minister maintained that the police officers who had travelled to New Delhi to bring the accused to Goa, could have been acting on the instructions of their superiors.
Speaking further, Mr Parrikar alleged that the over-enthusiasm of the police could have resulted from their support to the company, which had won the tender to supply HSRPs in Goa.
In his reply, the Chief Minister said that such companies, throughout the country, try to get the representatives of their rival companies arrested with an aim to blacklist them. “However, I assure the House that there is no question of any government department taking side of any company,” he added. “I will inquire into this allegation and see if unnecessarily the action was initiated by the police,” the Chief Minister assured.