CANACONA
The Canacona Municipal Council is all set to shift and function from the Dr Dhillon Hospital, near Char-rasta, the first private hospital to ever function in Canacona.
CMC’s Portuguese-era heritage building in the town of Chaudi initially housed Nagorcem-Palolem Panchayat and since its upgradation to municipal council is being taken up for demolition to construct a one plus two-storey state of the art new municipal building at an approximate cost of Rs 11 crore.
Foundation stone for the new building was laid during the previous council term last October by Urban Development Minister Milind Naik and Deputy Speaker and Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes. Though the work order for the building was issued, funds were approved only two months ago.
The commencement of work, however, ran into rough weather as shifting of its administrative staff which was initially planned in the adjacent municipal hall could not be carried out due to some technical and legal issues.
CMC’s search for a suitable building delayed the shifting further. It finally settled for Dr Dhillon Hospital, which was taken up for renovation and repairs after the DMA approved it following its stability reports.
The renovation and re-painting were completed and the building is almost ready for occupation. If CMC Chairperson Simon Rebello is to be believed, the shifting of CMC records and files after its listings will begin in the next two-three days.
Some of the records will be stored in IDMST building itself, whereas the day-to-day functioning files and records already recorded in inventory will be shifted to the rented premises. The taluka library which was also housed in the municipal building has already been shifted to a temple premises at Devabhag, near Palolem, while land records and survey office is now located in Deputy Collectorate/Mamlatdar Complex, Chaudi.
When contacted, Rebello informed that the rent and the contract have been finalised with Dr Dhillon and the same will be signed on Monday. Shifting of the CMC administration will be completed in the next three days, he added.
Dr Dhillon Hospital, which is owned by Dr Dhillon Dessai, the first ever to run a private hospital in Canacona, was lying unused and locked for almost two decades.
Meanwhile, the upcoming three-storey new municipal administrative-cum-commercial building to be built at an approximate cost of Rs 11 crores will have shops/ATMs and canteen on the ground floor.
The first floor will have municipal offices, chairperson and officers’ cabins and meeting/conference hall, while the third floor will have a public hall and other facilities.
