the goan I network
MARGAO
Once again, the deadline setby the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) to complete the civil works in all respects and hand over the South Goa district hospital building to the Director of Health Services
on November 30 has gone for a toss.
Given the situation, early commissioning of the long-delayed South Goa district hospital has been ruled out at least in the next 2-3 months due to a host of factors, including the delay in completing the building, besides recruitment of the manpower required to cater to the additional patients in the 500-bedded hospital.
Even as the government is planning to link the proposed medical college down South with the District Hospital in the future, commissioning of the long-delayed district hospital still remains a distant dream.
GSIDC officials, however, attributed the delay in handing over the district hospital building to the Directorate of Health Services to the
delay in the payments to the building contractors by the government.
As was feared in certain quarters, some of the contractors were believed to have deliberately slowed down
the work after they failed to
receive payments from the government.
A senior GSIDC official, however, now says that since the government has now released part payment to the contractors, work is expected to gain momentum in the month of December.
The GSIDC official maintained that the contractors are now expected to get back their labourers to complete the balance work at the hospital.
Sources in the know, however, said that the GSDIC officials now say even if the contractors expedite work on the balance portion of the building, only work on the first three floors of the building may be ready in all respects by December 31, adding that “work on the ground floor and the basement will take some more time to complete”.
GSIDC General Manager Jude Carvalho had on November 9 promised the Public Undertaking Committee of the Goa Assembly comprising of MLAs Digambar Kamat, Wilfred D’Sa and Clafacio Dias that the agency will hand over the South Goa district hospital building to the Directorate of Health services by November 30.
When The Goan contacted the GSIDC General Manager to shed light on the failure of the agency to honour the promise, Carvalho said the balance work was hit on issues of payments to the contractors.
He, however, said work is now expected to gain momentum with the government releasing some amount to the contractors.
“We have now set December 31 as the fresh deadline to complete the civil works on the first three floors of the district hospital before handing over the same to the Health Director. Work on the ground floor and the basement will be complete by the first week of January 2020,” Carvalho said, while attributing the delay in completing the civil works by November 30 to the slowdown resorted by the contractors.
At the last visit to the district hospital, the GSIDC General Manager had told the Public Undertaking Committee of the Goa Assembly that payments amounting to Rs 20 crore were due to the contractors and had feared a slowdown in the ongoing work on the hospital, prompting PUC member and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat that he would speak to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to release some funds to at least make part payment to the contractors.
