Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Hefty bill awaits Brazil-returned Goa MLAs
PANAJI:
The Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) is waiting for the revised bill from
an agency in Mumbai to recover the sum from four MLAs who travelled to
Brazil for the Fifa World Cup 2014.Fisheries minister Avertano Furtado, besides MLAs Benjamin Silva (Velim), Carlos Almeida (Vasco) and Glen Ticlo (Aldona) traveled to witness the biggest sporting spectacle on earth at their own cost after their previously planned junket — first exposed by TOI — created a furore across the country.
Six MLAs were originally scheduled to be part of the state-sponsored delegation. But with just four MLAs eventually making the trip, they may now have to settle their most expensive foreign bill.
"We do not know exactly how much each MLA will have to pay," said SAG executive director Sandip Jacques.
The SAG has paid approximately Rs 89 lakh to Fans on Stands, an agency in Mumbai, to book the match tickets and make all other arrangements for the MLAs.
According to the agency's website, Fans On Stands "believes in not only providing the best seats in the house but also enhancing that experience with a multitude of enriching and enjoyable aspects surrounding the sport and its icons."
Fireworks at Brazil's Maracana stadium after the World Cup final match. The Goa MLAs might have to pay more than Rs 15 lakh towards their trip to Brazil.
"On rough calculations, each (of the six) MLA was to pay approximately Rs 15 lakh towards the trip since they were going at their own cost. But now we do not know the exact sum since we are expecting the final bill in a couple of days.
"We have paid the agency the full amount since they asked for it to go ahead and confirm the arrangements. But with the sports minister (Ramesh Tawadkar) opting out, and power minister (Milind Naik) having work exigencies at home, we told the agency to give us a refund," said Jacques.
It was not immediately known if the agency would entertain the request for a refund. Fifa has confirmed that match tickets are non-refundable, while a refund from the travel partner will be possibly only if the tickets were canceled in advance and a no-show avoided.
If the agency does not provide a refund — depending on the terms of the contract — each MLA will have to pay a far bigger amount than the Rs 15 lakh that they were initially asked to pay.
"The state government has made it clear that they are not paying for the trip. Assuming that the total cost of the trip is Rs 80 lakh, with Rs 9 lakh as refund, each MLA will have to pay Rs 20 lakh each," said one official who is in the know of things.
Several fans from Goa have traveled to Brazil at less than half that cost
