MAPUSA
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar laid the foundation stone for the construction of a laboratory cum office building of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) in Saligao on Thursday. Tourism Minister and local MLA Dilip Parulekar, EDC Chairman and Panaji MLA Sidharth Kuncalienker, Saligao Sarpanch Eknath Oraskar and senior officials of GSPCB were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, GSPCB Chairman Manuel Noronha said the state-of-the-art structure consisting of ground plus four is estimated to cost around `22 crore and will be completed by
December 2016.
“Our office presently housed at Dempo Towers, Patto is grossly inadequate. The new building will have a laboratory and the administrative section, all in the same block,” Noronha said.
The building is being built on land admeasuring 4,803 sq mtrs leased to the Board by the Department of Science and Technology and will house the scientific, technical, legal and administrative sections of the board spread over a built up area of 6,300 sq mtrs.
Designed by architect, Gerard Da Cunha, the building will adopt a green concept to save energy and conserve and recycle water. “Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the building to generate electricity and rain water will be
collected and stored in harvesting tank
which will be basically used to flush the toilets,” the chairman said.
“Water from sewage and effluent treatment plant will be used for irrigation purpose,” he added.
The building will have a large atrium of 427 sq mtrs and a seminar hall with a capacity of 140 people, he said.
Fly ash bricks will be used for the construction of the project. It is proposed to provide surveillance and
fire protection system for the entire building.
The ground floor has a double height porch, reception, IT Department, sample receiving station, canteen and rest rooms for staff.
The first floor has a microbiology laboratories, instrument laboratories, work stations for junior, senior lab assistant, scientific assistant and RND.
The second floor has a seminar hall with capacity of 140 seating arrangement, wet labs, and work station for junior, senior lab assistant and scientific assistant meeting room.
The third floor has chairman’s chamber, member secretary chamber, a conference room, library, accounts department, legal department and cabins for Head of Departments. The attic floor has workstations for the technical staff.
Provisions have also for Sewage and Effluent Treatment System. The sewage from the septic tank and waste water from the labs will be treated through soil scape filtration process and used for irrigation purpose.
Others present at the function included GSPCB Member Secretary Lavinson Martins, ZP member Rupesh Naik, Chief Town Planner Dr Puttu Raju and Saligao Seminary Director Fr Manuel Alphonso.
