Shantaram seeks stalling of open tenders of stalls on KR stations

Panaji, July 27 (UNI) AICC secretary Shantaram Naik MP today urged Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to stall issue of open tenders in respect of stalls on Konkan Railway stations which were alloted to ''land losers nine years ago'', as it amounts to breach of trust.

In a letter faxed to Mr Prasad besides the Ministrs of State R Velu and Naranbhai Rathwa, he said the ministry should not have opened fresh tenders at all as it will deprive the allottees of their livelihood as they could not meet the stringent conditions laid by the authorities for bidding.

This was following a delegation of All Goa Konkan Railway Land Loser's Association meeting Mr Naik today pleading for undoing fresh tendering process.

The delegation told Mr Naik that the stalls were alloted to them in lieu of their fertile ancestral farm lands handed over to the Centre for Konkan Railway Project nine years ago as an alternative source of permanent income for the displaced.

With the corporation increasing reserve prices of the stalls from time to time, the allottees found it difficult to get them realloted as they could not meet the stringent tender norms.

''It gives us an impression that a certain lobby is working to oust the original allottees from their business,'' told association President Prashant Arsekar, Vice President Marshall Godinho and Treasurer Jerry Dias to Mr Naik in a memorandum.

The association contended that the proposal of the corporation to issue tenders for stalls already allotted to the land losers amounts to breach of trust which is not expected of a reputed corporation.

The new ''policy for commercial contracts over Konkan Railway'' issued by the Corporation on April 3 this year did not contain any provision to safeguard the interest of the land losers.

On the contrary, the new policy laid down stringent conditions which the land losers will not be able to fulfill, it was averred.

UNI