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| Mantri gets open bidding cancelled to allot industrial space to relative | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Oct 28: In yet another case of "favoritism", barely two hours ahead of the formal auctioning of prime industrial space at the Khanmoh Industrial Estate on the outskirts here, a junior minister got the bidding cancelled only to benefit his close relative, who had eyes on the prime space.
Officials said the State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO), which runs the industrial estate at Khanmoh had called for bids to lease out space earlier allotted to a Kashmir-based firm, which had failed in profitable utilization of the unit. The prime industrial space had been defunct for over a decade, they added.
Now in a bid to utilize this space for business operations, the SIDCO called for open bids on October 27. Officials said the open bid was scheduled to start at Rs 72 lakhs.
Officials said it was for the second time that the bids were called as in the previous bid-offer the response from bidders was "not that good."
But this time though many businessmen were formally willing for the bid, there came a twist in the story, at the eleventh hour.
Sources said a Peoples Democratic Party leader who is also a Minister for State in the PDP led coalition summoned the SIDCO officials to his residence at Tulsi Bagh on the same morning.
Sources said the minister told SIDCO officials that he was not interested in holding the bid as it was allegedly against his interests. Sources privy to the meeting said the minister gave them feelers that he wants to allot the industrial land to his close relative from south Kashmir.
Insiders said though the officials tried to object to his decision pleading that it would be "difficult to cancel the bid", the minister pressurized them to cancel it "come what may or face consequences,"
Sources said after the closed-door meeting which lasted for around an hour, the SIDCO formally cancelled the bid.
This infuriated the potential bidders who smell a rat in the decision. "We were already apprehensive that this bid will be cancelled as we had got to know that some influential Andrabi Sahib from south Kashmir wants to grab this land by paying meager charges. But this is injustice and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti must take note of this," the businessmen said.
SIDCO officials confirmed that the bidding was cancelled after the junior minister called them to his residence. They however declined to admit that the minister wants to allot the land to his "nears and dears."
"Minister Sahib told us that he has received some complaints and thus wants the bidding cancelled," a SIDCO official told Early Times.
When told that the bidding had already been advertised in the past as well, the official couldn't give any convincing reply as to why it was cancelled when bidders were willing to buy the space.
The MoS could not be contacted for comments. His PRO, who picked up the phone while refuting the allegations said: "This cannot not be true… Minister Sahib has gone for Friday prayers, you can call him later." |
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