the goan I network
MARGAO
Will the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) honour the deadline set by the Pubic Undertaking Committee (PUC) of the Goa Legislative Assembly and hand over the South Goa district hospital to the Directorate of Health services on
January 31?
Or, will the non-payment of the huge bills of the contractors engaged in the construction work further delay the commission of the prestigious project?
The PUC panel headed by Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat was scheduled to review the progress of hospital work on January 15, but the inspection could not take pace because of the preoccupation of the members. Sources in the Hospico, however, told The Goan that work on the South Goa district Hospital has not progressed much after the last meeting of the PUC at the hospital complex.
Hospicio sources informed that doctors who had visited the district Hospital building could not find any major changes in the hospital, indicating that work on the hospital has just been dragging on for months now.
Sources said the contractors have deliberately slowed down the work on the hospital as they have insisted that the government clear their payments amounting to around Rs 20 crores.
In fact, at the last date of hearing, GSIDC and other officials had made a frank admission that some of the contractors have slowed down the work out of fear that they may be left in the lurch without payments after
the commissioning of the project.
When The Goan contacted PUC chairman Digambar Kamat to shed light on the status of the hospital project, he said the PUC meeting could not take place as some of the members were not in town on Wednesday. He, however, said that the meeting would take place before the end of the month.
When his attention was drawn to reports that not much work has taken place at the under-construction hospital since the last meeting of the PUC held last year, Kamat said that non-payment of dues to the contractors has turned into a major issue coming in the way of the project.
“I had recently called on the Finance Secretary to find out the status of the payments to the contractor, and I have been assured that the part payments will be released soon,” Kamat said.
It’s now nine years since the prestigious 500-bedded South Goa district hospital project has been dragging on over a host of issues, including issues pertaining to funds.
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