the goan I network
MARGAO
What would the proposed Margao bus stand look like? Will the bus stand prototype approved by the Chief Minister on Wednesday be a bus stand like any other or will it resemble the ultra-modern bus stand proposed during the stint of Margao MLA Digambar Kamat as Chief Minister in 2011 or the Fatorda Margao Bus stand (FMBT) mooted by Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai?
The question has come to the fore, more so as the land in possession of the KTC at the Margao bus stand is spread across an area of 66,000 square meters, with the powers that be eyeing the huge land for commercial
purpose.
When this question was posed to GSIDC senior official, Sandeep Chodnekar, he said the proposed bus stand will be any other normal bus stand.
While shooting down the PPP model, the Chief Minister is believed to have made it clear that the Margao bus stand will be a normal bus stand with a shed and passenger amenities, in addition to revenue generating development in the first
phase.
Based on the CM’s directive, the GSIDC will now prepare the estimates for the proposed bus stand, before Pramod Sawant convenes another meeting to further discuss and deliberate before granting the go-ahead signal to float the tender.
GSIDC officials informed that while the two proposals, the ultra-modern bus stand and the FMBT had provisions for shopping malls and hotels, these commercial projects may not find a place in the bus stand project at least in the first phase.
The Goan understands that while the government will take the bus stand plan designed by Delhi-based Khanna Associates as the base plan while executing the project, many commercial items mooted in both the ultra-modern bus stand and FMBT will be excluded from the bus stand approved by the present government.
Both the ultra-modern bus stand and the FMBT had invited criticism from many quarters over the fact that these proposed bus stand looked more like shopping malls and hotels than a conventional bus stand. The critics, however, were countered by the powers that be that they are only trying to utilize the FAR bestowed on the land, which presently houses the KTC bus stand.
