NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Alleging corruption in the Goa State Horticultural Corporation Ltd (GSHCL), the Congress party on Monday demanded a white paper and probe into the functioning of the Corporation.
“The corporation with an annual turnover of around Rs 150 crore does not have the system, no tenders, no contracts, no agreements, no control on prices, no eligibility to its suppliers and no quality control. It does not function like a Corporation hence there is a need to enquire and a white paper on the functioning of the Corporation,” said AICC secretary Girish Chodankar.
He claimed that the corporation receives a subsidy of Rs 25 crore annually and engages suppliers without inviting tenders. The benefits of government subsidy are not passed on to its customers, due to which vegetables get costly and are also of bad quality. Chodankar said that the corporation has no transparent system in place and alleged that many supervisors owe lakhs of rupees to the corporation.
“The supply prices are much higher than wholesale prices in Belgaum. Due to ‘Price Syndicate’ of vegetable suppliers the Corporation, shop owners and the customers have suffered. As a result of this, 300 out of 700 outlets have closed and many more are on their way,” he said.
“The corporation has failed due to political interference in order to make the corporation the earning hub for the near and dear ones of Bharatiya Janata Party government. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is the lone person responsible for this mess and the corruption in the corporation,” he added.
Chodankar has also demanded that the corporation should start tendering process for its suppliers, have a proper agreement with them, have quality control and prices should be linked to competitive market prices.