When PWD Minister Digambar Kamat recently inspected the under-construction Margao Civil and Criminal Court building adjacent to the existing South Goa District and Sessions Court, he expressed confidence that the project would be completed before the end of the year. He also said the shifting of the Civil and Criminal Courts from the heritage court building would ease the chronic parking problems in the Old Market area.
The Minister's remarks have raised hopes that the long-delayed project is finally nearing completion and that residents, traders and motorists in the Old Market locality may soon get relief from severe parking congestion.
However, questions are already being raised over whether the problem will simply shift from one location to another.
Once the Civil and Criminal Courts are relocated to the new multi-storeyed complex, the pressure on parking is expected to move to the South Goa District and Sessions Court precincts, where space is already at a premium.
The proposed court complex, which will house all nine Civil and Criminal Courts, reportedly has little provision for vehicle parking. The South Goa Advocates' Association has repeatedly claimed that the new building has parking space for no more than nine cars, a figure it says is grossly inadequate for a complex expected to cater to judges, lawyers, court staff, litigants and visitors.
This has sparked concerns over how the authorities intend to address the parking needs of the new court complex once it becomes operational.
The Advocates' Association has consistently pointed out that parking within the existing District and Sessions Court campus has already reached saturation point. The present complex can accommodate only around 40 vehicles, and legal fraternity sources maintain that it will be impossible to meet the additional parking demand generated by the new Civil and Criminal Court building without a comprehensive parking plan.
With the project now entering its final phase, members of the legal fraternity say the government must address the parking issue before inaugurating the new complex to prevent congestion from merely shifting from the Old Market area to the District and Sessions Court campus.
Govt eyes land behind
Sessions Court complex
for parking facility
More than a year and a half after a parcel of land behind the Sessions Court complex was identified as a potential site for a dedicated parking facility, the government is yet to formally initiate the process to acquire the property.
The proposal first received a boost during the tenure of then Law Minister Aleixo Sequeira, in coordination with then PWD Executive Engineer Elvis D'Souza, who had identified the land as suitable for easing the acute parking shortage at the court complex.
Following an inspection of the under-construction court building, PWD Minister Digambar Kamat told reporters that South Goa Additional Collector-I Srinet Kothwale would take forward the process of procuring the land and ensure that it reaches its logical conclusion.
However, sources said the proposal has remained stalled despite the passage of more than 18 months. They added that the landowners had reportedly expressed their willingness to part with the property for the proposed parking project, raising questions over the delay in moving the acquisition process forward.
The prolonged inaction has sparked concerns over why the proposal, which was initiated with the objective of addressing the chronic parking problem at the Sessions Court complex, has yet to translate into concrete action. With work on the new court building progressing, stakeholders say the development of an adequate parking facility has become increasingly important to meet the growing demand from litigants, lawyers, court staff and the public.
South Goa Advocates seek
dedicated parking for 200
cars at new court complex
The South Goa Advocates Association (SGAA) has reiterated its demand for dedicated parking facilities capable of accommodating at least 200 cars at the upcoming South Goa court complex, which will house the District and Sessions Court as well as the Civil and Criminal Courts.
The issue has already come under the scrutiny of the High Court, which last year took note of representations submitted by the lawyers' body and directed the government counsel to furnish details of the proposed parking arrangements for the new court complex.
SGAA president Adv. Clovis Costa said the association has also filed an intervention application before the High Court in the matter.
“If the new court building is ready by October or December, the government should simultaneously take possession of the land identified for parking and develop the facility. Without adequate parking arrangements, one can well imagine the chaos that will prevail at both the District and Sessions Court building and the Civil and Criminal Court building once the new complex is inaugurated,” Costa said.
The association maintains that adequate parking infrastructure is essential to ensure the smooth functioning of the court complex and to avoid traffic congestion and inconvenience to lawyers, litigants and court staff.
Incidentally, the SGAA had in the past petitioned to the South Goa Planning and Development Authority to earmark dedicated space for parking at the adjoining PDA grounds, bur the proposal received hardly any takers.
