Cabinet to have final say on HSRPs
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MAY 27
The decision on High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs) will be taken by the Goa Cabinet even as Transport Minister Ramkrishna Dhawalikar on Thursday said that he has not received any sort of report from Advocate General Subodh Kantak over the HSRP contract.
“As a transport minister, the file with AG’s verdict has to come to me, which will be studied and accordingly the decision will be taken,” Dhawalikar said.
“But till today I have not received any file from AG’s office,” he added.
After the Srivastav committee presented its final report on the controversial HSRP at the floor of the House in March with several irregularities in awarding the tender to the Shimnit Utsch, the State government had forwarded the file to AG for legal opinion.
Officials have confirmed that AG has already given his opinion to the State government and has also pointed out irregularities in the contract.
Meanwhile, as the HSRP contract signed by the government with Shimnit Utsch still stands, public are being offered with the same number plates for their new vehicles till further decision comes on the matter.
Sources in the government however, said that following the legal opinion given by the AG, the government is going to place the matter before the Cabinet. “The Cabinet should decide as it has become a very controversial issue”, said an officer.
The Cabinet will have to take the decision whether to scrap the contract with Shimnit Ustch Pvt Ltd or not and if not whether the rates would have to be reviewed among other issues.
It may be recalled that HSRP has been very controversial from the time Dhavlikar decided to implement the decision in Goa around ten months ago. The tendering process and allotment of the contract to M/s Shimnith Ustch was decided by his predecessor Pandurang Madkaikar. It was only when the court gave a ruling in favour of the company that the government decided to implement the scheme in Goa. However, sources said that though the Supreme Court had given a decision for implementation of HSRP across the country, there was no need for Goa to rush with the decision. Unlike other states, Goa, as per a decision taken by Dhavlikar, rushed with the implementation of the decision which ultimately led to an agitation over the “high rates” and lack of proper infrastructure set up for installing the number plates.
