Housing societies, builders in talks to 'redevelop' several edifices in Panaji

The iconic Junta House is to be redeveloped, and work has not yet commenced only because a handful of government offices located there are still searching for alternate spaces.

PANAJI
The nearly two-centuries-old capital of Goa – Panaji – is headed for a massive overhaul of its skyline, with both government edifices as well as private residential buildings to be pulled down and replaced with taller, multi-storeyed structures.
Except for the city's handful of conservation zones, such as a patch in Campal, Mala-Fontainhas and Sao Tome, every other quarter of the capital city is slated for a complete overhaul of its built-up space.
At least half a dozen housing cooperative societies, which own two-, three- and four-storeyed residential complexes, are in talks with one or the other builder of repute for "redevelopment", which will involve pulling down the existing structures and constructing brand-new edifices to replace them.
One of the first residential buildings and a landmark location of Panaji – Kundaikar Nagar – will likely be the first among the handful of fifty-plus-year-old edifices of the capital city to be pulled down.
Multiple sources who were party to the negotiations have told 'The Goan' that the housing society that owns the Kundaikar Nagar building has concluded the 'redevelopment' talks and reached an agreement with a top Goan construction firm. "The deal has not been inked yet, but it will happen soon," one member of the housing society said.
Societies that own at least four other multi-storeyed buildings in the same locality as the Kundaikar Nagar building near the Mahalaxmi Temple are also in talks with top construction firms and builders for redevelopment.
TCP sources said plans for the redevelopment of 'Palm Grove', located near the Goa International Hotel in Miramar, which were submitted some months ago, have recently received approval, and work is expected to commence soon after the builder secures the requisite permissions and licences from the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP).
On the government side, the iconic Junta House is already on the chopping block, and work has not yet commenced only because a handful of government departments’ offices located there are still searching for alternate spaces.
Several other government-owned structures and spaces in the capital city, including the FCI godown adjacent to the Junta House, the PWD garage opposite the Don Bosco campus, among others, are also to be reduced to rubble and replaced with modern, multi-storeyed buildings.
The state government has entered into a contract with the public sector NBCC (India) Ltd to demolish and reconstruct these buildings. TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane effected changes in The Goa (Regulation of Land Development and Building Construction) Act, 2010, easing height restrictions and earmarking additional FARs in 2023.
These changes, according to sources in the real estate industry, have made 'redevelopment' a more lucrative proposition than starting a fresh project on the scarce number of spaces available in the city for construction. Builders and construction firms are, therefore, making a beeline to start negotiations with cooperative housing societies for redeveloping their properties.
In recent years, at least two major buildings and housing enclaves in Panaji have been redeveloped – Adarsh Colony in Miramar by the Milrock Company and La Campal Housing Society by Kamat Constructions. In neighbouring Taleigao, too, Rajdeep Builders has completed the redevelopment of a building next to the Priority Motors showroom, and Pradeep Housing Society is in the process of being redeveloped.