MAPUSA
A day after the Task Force Committee made stinging observations on the costly renovation of Goa’s iconic cultural centre Kala Academy, the State government on Friday remained non-committal on whether any action would be initiated or responsibility fixed for the alleged lapses flagged in the report.
Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Digambar Kamat sought to distance his department from the controversy, stating that the PWD had only a “limited role” in the renovation project and that the onus lay with the Art and Culture Department, the parent department of Kala Academy.
“The entire structure belongs to the Art and Culture Department. PWD had a limited role to play there,” Kamat said, despite the fact that the PWD was entrusted with overall supervision of the renovation works that ran into several crores of rupees.
The minister also claimed ignorance of the technical report submitted by IIT Madras, which was commissioned to assess structural and acoustic aspects of the renovated complex.
“I have not seen any such report. They may have submitted it to the Art and Culture Department,” Kamat said.
Repeated attempts to contact Art and Culture Minister Ramesh Tawadkar were unsuccessful, with his phone remaining out of range.
Senior PWD engineers too were either unavailable or declined to comment.
On Wednesday, the Task Force Committee had raised serious concerns over the execution of the renovation, including deviations from approved plans, questions over material quality, acoustic deficiencies and the absence of accountability despite repeated complaints by artistes and stakeholders.
The committee also pointed to poor coordination between departments and lack of transparency in decision-making.
Kala Academy, inaugurated in 1970 and designed by renowned architect Charles Correa, is considered a cultural landmark of Goa.
The renovation project, undertaken to modernise the ageing structure, has been mired in controversy since its reopening, with recurring complaints about leaks, acoustics and structural flaws.
With departments passing the buck and ministers pleading ignorance, the government’s silence has only deepened concerns over whether the Task Force findings will lead to corrective action – or merely be added to a growing pile of ignored reports.
