MARGAO
GSIDC PUT THE BALL IN COURT OF GOVT
>> GSIDC officials saidthat the top two floors of the hospital are all ready for occupation and it isfor the government to take a call on the utilization of these two floors alongwith the building
>> We had only shiftedthe furniture items on the top two floors when the remaining three floors werebeing readied for the part commissioning three months ago
>> Now, that thegovernment has drawn up plans to commission the district hospital, workers areusing the top two floors to assemble the furniture, said senior GSIDC officials
Many a question remainunanswered as the government has planned to fully-commission the districthospital on September 1. Has the GSIDC still not handed over the building’s toptwo floors on the diktat from the powers that be? And, why has Chief MinisterPramod Sawant, who heads the GSIDC not issued directions to the Agency toexpedite completion of the entire district hospital building project and handover the same to the Director of Health Services, including the top two floors.
GSIDC officials told 'TheGoan' that the top two floors of the hospital are all ready for occupation andit is for the government to take a call on the utilization of these two floorsalong with the building. “The civil and other works on the top two floors iscomplete and ready for occupation. We had only shifted the furniture items onthe top two floors when the remaining three floors were being readied for thepart commissioning three months ago. Now, that the government has drawn upplans to commission the district hospital, workers are using the top two floorsto assemble the furniture”, a senior GSIDC official said.
Questions are being raisedwhether the GSIDC has not handed over the hospital building’s top two floors tothe DHS on the instructions of the Powers that be, with speculations doing therounds that Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has mooted a private medical collegeon these floors. The Health Minister is yet to speak his mind on the issue,even though Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesaihave expressed their strong reservations on any move to hand over the top twofloors of the building to private players.
“We have no idea why thepowers that be do not want the GSIDC to hand over the district hospital’s toptwo floors to the DHS. The GSIDC will have to take a decision on handing overthe top floors to the DHS sooner rather than later,” the official added.
When the district hospitalproject was conceived around 2010 by the Digambar Kamat-led Congressgovernment, the district hospital was designed as an 800-bed district hospitalas it was expected to cater to the health care requirements of the people ofSouth Goa.
The mystery, however, remainedunresolved why the government of the day decided to complete the work on thefirst three floors. This question has become all the more relevant, more so intimes of COVID-19 pandemic, when the government is still scouting for space tohouse patients and does not want to put to the readily available space to meetthe requirements.
Health Minister Vishwajit Ranehas so far not shed any light on the purpose for which the top two floors ofdistrict hospital’s building have been kept vacant when space constraint hascome to haunt the authorities in the battle against COVID. And, neither hasChief Minister Pramod Sawant directed the GSIDC officials to hand over the toptwo floors of the district hospital to the Directorate of Health Services.
