PANJIM: While people are up in arms against coal handling at Mormugao Port Trust, the State government appears to be in no mood to relent and stop the unloading of coal at the port.
In this who wins is Urban Development Minister Milind Naik, who lives a few kilometres from MPT and has his company registered with the port trust as a stevedore (including coal).
M N Construction handles stevedoring – loading and unloading of ships that arrive at a port. The minister has often rejected this claim and as such this is the first time his involvement with the MPT works has come to the fore.
A RTI reply given to Congress leader Sankalp Amonkar by MPT has said that M N Constructions has registered as a stevedore in MPT. “The name of the proprietor or owner of the M N Constructions is Milind Sagun Naik,” the reply said.
The reply further says that M N Construction, Developers, Builders, Engineers, Contractors has an office at Rohan Arcade, opposite MPT Institute, Vasco.
Amonkar, said that Naik handles all stevedoring at MPT. “Apart from this, Mayuresh Transport is another company which has links with Milind Naik which handles cargo,” Amonkar told Herald.
Not just stevedoring and transport, sources in the port say that every tender or outsourcing at MPT is done by Naik. “Be it wagon capping, cranes, CHLD contracts, labour supply all is being handled by Naik’s company M N Constructions,” officials said.
Parshuram Sonurlekar, a social activist from Mormugao said there are only two companies, one of them being MN Constructions, which dominate the port.
“Many port users have approached me as just one or two companies are dominating. During lockdown people have lost jobs but yet only the two companies are dominating the works,” he said.
He said, in a situation when a cabinet colleague in involved, it is not surprising for Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to turn a deaf ears to people’s woes on coal. “When the cabinet minister is a beneficiary of MPT, do you think, this government will stop coal handling at MPT?” Sonurlekar asked.
