MARGAO
Exactly 20 days after the Supreme Court and the High Court cleared all decks for the demolition of the Silver Sands hotel at Colva, the hotel stands tall in the tourist village.
And the reason is not far too seek and will only bring to the fore the absence of logistics with the administration in executing the court orders.
Complainant activist Judith Almedia has cried foul over the delay and the blame game by the district authorities in executing the Supreme Court order and threatens to knock on the doors of the High Court seeking justice on two counts “ one, to direct the PWD to execute its order and raze down the hotel and to direct the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to invoke the polluter pays principle in the case.
Inquiries by The Goan, however, have only revealed that the PWD is still awaiting funds and directions for engaging an expert agency to raze down the hotel building.
If the PWD, Div VI, was charged for playing truant in razing down the hotel building as per the High Court orders, the former is now waiting for the district authorities to sanction funds amounting to a whopping Rs 14 lakh to engage a specialized demolition agency to bring down the hotel.
And, if PWD officials are to be believed, the demolition exercise may not come so soon even if the district authorities or the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) places funds at its disposal to carry out the demolition operation.
As the PWD manual now mandates the PWD to go for e-tendering of works amounting to Rs five lakh and above, officials said the hotel demolition exercise will have to be e-tendered to engage the specialized agency since the estimated cost of the work is pegged at around Rs 14 lakh.
“The e-tendering process normally takes one month before an agency is appointed. There cannot be an exception to the rule in the instant case unless the district authorities of the GCZMA exempt the PWD from going for e-tendering,” the official said.
The PWD official added: “After we expressed our inability to carry out the demolition exercise for want of the machinery and wherewithal, the office had dashed off a letter to the district authorities to engage a specialized agency. The PWD is just part of the demolition squad and the Chairman heading the squad or the requisitioning department will have to take a final call”.
Chairman of the Demolition Squad, Deputy Collector, Prasad Volvoikar, told The Goan that his office has already sent a letter to the GCZMA to arrange the funds amounting to Rs 14 lakh. “The ball now lies in the court of the GCZMA. Once the funds are placed with us or at the disposal of the PWD, the latter will have to comply with the codal formalities to engage an agency,” Volvoikar said.
Complainant Judith Almeida, however, has cried foul over the delay and the blame game. “It is indeed sad that the authorities cannot execute the court order for want of machinery to bring down the hotel. I have been demanding that the GCZMA should have its own demolition team and machinery to execute orders in CRZ areas. Such a huge delay cannot be accepted. The order of the Supreme Court and the High Court must be given effect to in both letter and spirit,” she demanded, while saying she would be left with no option but to move the High Court for action.
Judith descended on the Matanhy Saldanha Administrative Complex on Friday to inspect the file in the Deputy Collector’s office, only to find no progress in the matter.
