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The cabinet on Wednesday approved the tourism department’s decision to pick Trishul Buildtech and Infrastructures Pvt Ltd to develop, operate and maintain one of its prime properties in the capital, the ‘Panaji Park’, for which the department will earn INR 63 lakh in annual licence fees (ALF).
The riverfront property, which is located near the ferry wharf, was earlier leased to Mandovi Hotels Pvt Ltd. The tourism department took back possession of the property on August 26 last year and sealed it after the lessee failed to hand it over upon expiry of the lease agreement. The lessee consequently filed a civil appeal before the court of the principal district judge, Panaji, challenging an order of the deputy collector and estate officer pertaining to possession of the property. The court subsequently directed the tourism department to refrain from accepting or awarding tenders in respect of the disputed premises subject to the appellant (lessee) paying INR 5 lakh to the respondent before the end of October 2022 and the balance amount on or before December 15, 2022.
The case was finally disposed of on April 1 this year and the order to vacate the premises was maintained, the cabinet note said.
In the meanwhile, the tender process for the selection of a suitable bidder to develop, operate and maintain the premises got under way, with Trishul Buildtech and Infrastructures Pvt Ltd emerging as the successful bidder. The file was thereafter submitted to the state government for administrative approval. The concurrence of the finance department was also sought for the issuance of a letter of award to Trishul Buildtech. The finance department, however, suggested that the file be placed before it only once the civil appeal was disposed of.
According to the Rajasthan state tourism department, since December 2018, a total of 802 tourism units have been sanctioned in the state, under which the state will receive an investment of INR 10,463.47 crore. These approved tourism units will generate employment opportunities for 40,785 people in the state, it said.
When the file was resubmitted to the finance department after the court disposed of the lessee’s appeal, it made particular observations pertaining to the selection of the bidder quoting the highest annual licence fee. It pointed out that the technical criteria of the tender were stringent and discouraged competition, and also said that the tourism department’s reserve price for the 5,884-sqm property was on the lower side when it should have been calculated based on the market price as the property occupies a prime location in Panaji city, the cabinet note said.The finance department went on to suggest that the tourism department adopt the auction model followed by EDC at Patto instead of valuing the property through a circle rate. The tourism department complied with the observations and re-submitted the file once more for concurrence. However, the finance department refused to agree with the valuation carried out by the tourism department. It said that the property had been valued at INR 18,000 per sqm, amounting to over INR 10 crore, and that the minimum ALF was set at five per cent of the property’s base market value — approximately INR 2.6 lakh — which was not acceptable. It then suggested that the tourism department place the matter before the cabinet for an appropriate decision.
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