Team Herald

MARGAO: Even as Margao Municipal Council has filed two separate cases against Aaron Fernandes whose contract to collect the sopo tax was cancelled, it has awarded the contract to collect sopo for five and a half months to Alam Sayyed.

Sayyed bagged the contract following his quotation to pay the council Rs 27,85,400 commencing from October 16, 2018 and ending March 31, 2019. He will have to give a security deposit of Rs 4,10,847 and provide a bank guarantee for Rs 8,21,693.

The first installment for half of October has been worked out to Rs 2,97,773 while for the remaining months, the monthly installment payable will be Rs 5,97,800.

Meanwhile, the council has moved for forfeiting the Rs 16,86,000 bank guarantee that was provided by the previous sopo tax collector Aaron Fernandes. The council has also filed two separate cases against him following the bouncing of the cheque provided as payment of one installment of Rs 6,86,000.

While one case filed is a civil suit to recover the money that was due, the other is a criminal case under the Negotiable Instruments Act that attracts even imprisonment as a sentence.