MAPUSA
The new beef and pork complex was inaugurated with much fanfare on the eve of the Independence Day in Mapusa but the owners are not likely to get possession of the stalls anytime soon as the Mapusa civic body is yet to issue occupancy certificate to the construction.
Secondly, the Rs 1.5 crore project comprising 14 stalls has no provision for sewerage connection putting the stall owners in a very inconvenient situation.
The stall owners who will handle raw meat lack the facility of a washing area and an outlet to drain off the water. There is also no provision for an exhaust system for the stalls.
Sources in the Mapusa Municipal Council informed that the occupancy to the project has been stuck as the Planning and Development Authority (PDA) was yet to issue a licence to the construction.
According to officials in the PDA the civic body made some changes in the plan mid-way for which revised plans have to be submitted to the planning body.
“We have already submitted a revised plan and for a completion certificate. The file is under process. Once the occupancy is received we will hand over the stalls to the owners,” said Venkatesh Sawant, Municipal Engineer-II.
He defended the decision not to provide sewage connection to the complex as the stalls were meant only for sale.
“It’s not a slaughter house. Those stalls are for selling of meat and therefore it was decided not to have a sewerage system,” he said.
He further disclosed that an effluent treatment plant (ETP) would come up near the present temporary beef stalls to treat waste water of the fish market.
“We can also connect the beef and pork stalls to this ETP,” he said.
It may be recalled, the beef and the pork complex was jointly inaugurated by Mapusa MLA, Joshua D’Souza and Mapusa Municipal Council Chairperson, Shubangi Vaigankar on August 14.
“It’s a proud moment for Mapusa. The project was pending for almost three years as it got delayed for various reasons including the ongoing pandemic. In a week’s time the stall owners will begin operation from these stalls,” D’Souza had said.
The Mapusa Chairperson Shubangi Vaigankar said it was a good complex and urged the stall owners to maintain cleanliness at the site.
Ward councillor, Sudhir Kandolkar, former chairpersons Ryan Braganza and Sandip Falari and several other councillors were present at the inauguration.
