Goa Power Minister in new scandal

The state government is now in the dock for awarding the Rs 7.5-crore Miramar oceanarium project to Studio C and its Indian subsidiary, Goa Theme Park Private Ltd, on the strength of these documents and is now accused of not verifying the company’s claims.

The project, which was to have been inaugurated in October this year has now been postponed for want of financialresources. The state government has been extending the deadline for commencement of the project every six months.

The last extension was given in June. “The company says they have to arrange for finance from abroad which is taking time,” says Dr N P Varde, joint secretary, Department of Science and Technology.

Incidentally as per the application filed before the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), New Delhi, as per which approval was granted, 75 per cent of the project cost was to have been generated from India while the rest would come from Stesin Pty Ltd and Aquarium Engineering and Technological Services Pty Ltd. Both these companies are held by Kilkenny Moldings Ltd, registered as a proprietary company in Perth, Australia, with a paid-up capital of just two Australian dollars (A$ 2). Kilkenny Ltd and Studio C are owned by one Gordon Crowther.

In its application before the FIPB, the company had also claimed that the Miramar Oceanarium project has been given an exemption from entertainmenttax: a fact completely denied by the government.

In its complaint to the Government of Goa, ATD has submitted testimonials from promoters of several international underwater world projects denying that Studio C was involved in their construction. The state government, however, disclaims responsibility for not verifying the bonafides of Studio C. “The Department of Ocean Development of the Government of India has to do the verifications and it is not our job,” Dr Varde claims.

Similarly, several corporate profiles circulated by Studio C put forward the claim that it was selected from among 16 companies which bid for the project. In fact, only two companies had bid for it.

Studio C also claims it is building and underwater world aquarium in Mumbai.

However, the contract for an oceanarium project in at the site of the Taraporevala Aquarium, the only such facility in the metropolis, has been awarded to ATD. This is however being contested by Studio C and its affiliates in India.

Even as the Governmentof Goa remains optimistic about the project being completed by early next year, Goa Theme Park Private Ltd, floated by Studio C to handle the construction of the oceanarium in Goa, has closed down its registered office at Dona Paula. The company now operates from an address in Thiruvananthapuram.

Mumbai project also floundersThe oceanarium project in Mumbai, which proposes to build an underwater world at the site of the Taraporevala Aquarium at Marine Drive, is also floundering amid legal hurdles.

While the project, in this instance, has been awarded by the Government of Maharashtra to the Singapore-based Alliance Technologies and Development Limited (ATD), the deal is being questioned by an Indian firm which has a close association with the Australian-based Studio C.

The Indian company based in Thiruvananthapuram, Bharat Oceanic Recoveries Private Limited (BORPL), has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court against the Maharashtra government and ATD.

BORPL, which had submitted its ownproposal for the project in April 1995, questions the proposed demolition of the Taraporevala Aquarium. Among other allegations, it claims its own proposal included mere renovation and not reconstruction of the heritage structure.

ATD, for its part, points out that Studio C’s Goa oceanarium project has not taken off two years after clearance was given as the company has neither the infrastructure nor technical expertise to build the underwaterworld.

The case is scheduled for hearing on July 13.