PANAJI
The State government has spent over Rs 2.5 crore on renovating court buildings across Goa since 2020. Despite this, some continue to face problems, particularly during the monsoon.
The government has also conceded defects in the state-of-the-art High Court building at Porvorim soon after its inauguration in March 2021. The contractor, Minister for Law & Judiciary Aleixo Sequeira said, is carrying out renovation/repairs at its own cost under the defect liability period. However, no investigations have been initiated into these issues despite their occurrences.
Deputy Solicitor General of India Advocate Pravin Faldessai was the first to highlight the plight of the building, constructed at a cost of Rs 115 crore, alleging it started showing infrastructural problems during its first monsoon, barely two months post-inauguration.
In a letter to the GSIDC, he also detailed problems such as leakages, water seepage, slippery floors; waterlogging in the corridors, the collapse of false ceilings in several places on the second floor, etc. The repairs began soon thereafter.
Meanwhile, in response to an unstarred question by Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao on Friday, the minister disclosed that the government spent Rs 4 lakh on the POCSO Court for pre-monsoon maintenance. The highest expenditure Rs 80.56 lakh was for roof repairs at the Civil and Criminal Court Building in Margao. Repairs included replacing Mangalore tiles, wooden roof members, and installing galvalume sheets.
Similarly, Rs 80.33 lakh was spent on repairing roof leakages at the Civil and Criminal Court in Vasco using the same techniques. The government stated that both premises are in good condition after renovation.
Another Rs 19 lakh each was allocated to the Civil Judge Junior Division & Judicial Magistrate First Class, Pernem, and the Civil Court Civil Judge Senior JMFC Bicholim premises. Repairs at the Civil & Criminal Courts in Ponda focused on water leakages, with some work pending due to funding issues. Since 2020, Rs 30.88 lakh has been spent on these repairs, although water leakages in the record room on the first floor are still reported with the minister assuring it is being attended to regularly. The minister also provided details on the amounts spent on repairs of other court buildings.
