MARGAO
A meeting of concerned citizens of Navelim on Sunday asserted that the new Our Lady of Rosary Higher Secondary School building block is being constructed after due consultations and with permissions and licences from the concerned authorities.
The meeting held at the band stand of the Our Lady of Rosary Church on Sunday morning saw the participants raising their hands in support of the school building project. It was pointed out that the new building block is being built to meet the provisions of the New Education Policy (NEP), adding that the building will take care of parking requirements.
Explaining in detail about the project, Russell Coutinho pointed out that an announcement was made at all the masses at the Rosary Church, Navelim as well as the chapels way back on April 7, 2024, in respect of the proposed construction of a new block for the Rosary HSS. “People were asked to give their suggestions to the proposal by April 30, 2024. In response, a lone suggestion was received from a citizen”, he said.
Russell explained that the building block was proposed to make provision for classrooms as per the NEP. “As per the new NEP, a provision for 36 classrooms was required to be made to conduct the classes. The building is not being built to increase the number of divisions or to increase student enrolment”, he added.
He said the proposal was discussed at the Parish Pastoral Council meeting and approved by the Fabrica, saying “it is evident that a consultation process had taken place amongst the PPC committee members. Besides, the proposal had the approval of the Bishop House. It was only after this consultation process that the file was moved to the authorities for permissions”.
He added: This shows the project was mooted not by an individual but was a collective decision. After obtaining the sanad, the Senior town planner had issued the Technical clearance for the project on March 4, 2025. The Navelim PHC issued the NOC on March 18, 2025. The Navelim Panchayat issued the construction licence to the Fabrica committee on April 1, 2025. The construction license was passed by majority of the panchayat members. There is absolutely no illegality in the construction work. The work carried out at the site is within the ambit of law”.
Another speaker pointed out that the new building block has a provision to provide parking for 30-40 vehicles. He, however, hastened to add that this parking provision is not meant for the customers of the business establishments, but only for those coming to the school.
