Team Herald
PANJIM: The Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) deviated from established rules and procedures to favour Nooruddin Hamirani, a close relative of Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik. This has come to light from the documents obtained by social activist Adv Aires Rodrigues under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from KTCL. Hamirani is reportedly the father-in-law of Ravi Naik’s younger son Roy.
As per the documents, Nooruddin Hamirani licensee of shop number 32 at the KTC Bus Terminus, Panjim by a letter on June 10 last year informed KTC that he was surrendering the shop as he was unable to pay the huge monthly rent.
However, five months later on November 15, Hamirani wrote to KTC that he would like to take back the said shop which he had surrendered as he does not have any other source of income.
The KTC by a letter on December 21 asked Hamirani to pay Rs 5,05,75 as outstanding towards licence fee from June 2021 to January 2022 to which he responded that the amount would be difficult to pay and that he be allowed to pay only Rs 75,000 as licence fee and be handed over the shop in March this year. The KTC the very same day replied to Hamirani allowing his request for rebate while informing him that he now needs to pay only Rs 10,000 per month instead of the monthly Rs 43,546 for the period from July 2021 to February 2022.
Stating that this was a clear case of politically motivated favoritism, Adv Rodrigues has said that once the shop is surrendered there was no provision to hand it over back and that the KTC was by law required to re-allot the shop by auction.
Demanding to know on which basis this unprecedented rebate was given to Nooruddin causing financial loss to the KTC.
