MARGAO
This never-ending saga of an “unsafe” building in the commercial capital may leave citizens baffled, with authorities engaged in the game of passing the buck as an order passed by the South District Disaster Management Authority to raze down the multi-storied building in November last is awaiting execution till date.
The November 13, 2023 order issued by South Goa District Collector, Asvin Chandru, who heads the district disaster management agency, directing the Margao Municipal Council to raze down the building has not only come full circle but has raised eyebrows as business activity is going unabated on the ground floor of the “unsafe” building.
Consider this. Seven months after the South Goa District Collector issued directions to the Margao Municipal Chief Officer on November 13, 2023, to demolish the building, the Chief Officer has got back to the district collector, saying the civic body does not have sufficient workforce to carry out these type of specialised works.
That’s not all. The Chief Officer has now conveyed to the district collector after seven months that demolition orders of the council are executed by the demolition squad constituted by the Deputy Collector, Salcete, wherein the PWD plays a major role.
In the letter dated June 27 addressed to the district collector, the chief officer further stated, “This Council does not have any machinery and expertise to demolish such a huge RCC building. As such, it is requested to carry out the demolition of the building through the Public Works Department (PWD).” The chief officer, however, offered to extend all required assistance to the authorities.
South Goa District Collector Chandru, who is also the chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority, South Goa, had ordered the MMC Chief Officer to demolish the building to avoid any untoward incidents.
Inquiries by The Goan, however, have revealed that the office of the Disaster Management Authority had sent as many as 4-5 reminders to the Margao Municipal Council during the last seven months, to file a compliance report on the demolition of the “unsafe” building.
Business activity going unabated
While the Margao Municipal Council has pushed the buck on the office of the South District Collector to raze down the “unsafe” building, business activity on the ground floor of the building goes on unabated.
While the MMC Chief Officer had dashed off his letter to the collector to take up the demolition of the unsafe building through the demolition squad, the civic body has not deemed it proper in the interest of public safety to stop the business activity in the “unsafe” building.
When 'The Goan' asked the MMC Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar to shed light on the business activity underway on the ground floor of the building, he said the MMC had already withdrawn the trade licence issued to the business.
Questions, however, are being raised in the corridors of the Margao Municipal building and outside whether it is not the responsibility of the civic body to stop any business activity carried out sans trade licence.
Sources further questioned who would be responsible if the “unsafe” building came crashing down, endangering the lives and property of citizens. When this question was posed to the Chief Officer Sankhwalkar, he said he would seek details from his subordinates on the business activity.
The contentious issue
The building in question had been declared unsafe way back in 2018 after the Margao Municipal Council had issued a notice under Section 190 of the Municipalities Act 1968, to interested parties to submit a Health Assessment Certificate of the building to check the stability from government-registered agency i.e. P.W.D/ Goa Engineering College.
The Department of Civil Engineering, Goa College of Engineering, Farmagudi-Ponda vide a test report dated March 23, 2018, submitted that the health condition of the said building is beyond repairable and retrofittable and the building is unsafe for human habitation.
The building has been standing tall at the location since then. The issue came back to the fore again after a citizen Colin Savio Coelho filed an application on October 25, 2023, before the collector informing illegal renovation and commercial activity were being carried out at the unsafe building.
