MARGAO
A casual glance at the open space adjoining the South Goa District and Sessions Court complex would make a stranger wonder whether the area plays host to a green park.
A close look at the site, however, would make one realize that the place is not earmarked for green space, but the greenery on the columns is the foundation laid for a court building abandoned midway for want of contractors to execute the work.
In fact, it’s now three years since work on the new Margao Civil and Criminal Court building has been down and out, with no bidder coming forward to take up the work over the GSR rates, throwing up a question for debate -- why did the government not prefer to execute the court building through the Goa State Infrastructure Development Agency (GSIDC) in these three years, instead of waiting for the PWD to revise the GSR rates.
Indeed the long delay in executing work on the new Margao court building has come to the fore with the Margao Civil and Criminal Court building coming under the scanner with rain water seepage inside the heritage building.
Sources in the PWD told The Goan that the agency has tendered two separate works, one to lay the foundation for the project and the second tender to build the multi-storied complex. While the foundation for the project was laid as per the first tender, work on the construction of the building could not take place because of the GSR rates with no contractor willing to execute the work at the old rates.
“The project was on hold because of the technical issue over the GSR rates. The contractors were not willing to execute the job on the old GSR rates. Hence, the project could not come up,” a senior PWD official told The Goan.
He, however, said the issue over the GSR rates may be finally resolved with the PWD proposing to the government to revise the rates for buildings and roads.
Sources, however, questioned why the government did not take up the court building project through the GSIDC.
“Recently, we have heard that since there were no bidders for the Margao Municipal Council’s tender for multi-level parking, the government decided to execute the project through the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA). The government could have taken up the Margao court building project through GSIDC instead of abandoning the work for three years,” remarked a lawyer.
“Since the High Court has fixed the next date of hearing on the matter on August 2, we expect the PWD and the government to come out with a solution,” the lawyer added.
Questions over parking at new court building
MARGAO:
With the abandoned Margao Court building project coming under the scanner of the High Court, the government may finally set in motion the project to bring the project back on track.
Questions, however, have been doing the rounds in the corridors of the Margao court whether the planners have provided adequate provision for vehicular parking in the new court building for the Judicial officers, lawyers, litigants and the court staff.
At the time when work on the building foundation was taken up, lawyers raised many an eyebrow over the provision for vehicular parking in the complex, which has been witnessing problems over parking issues.
When The Goan brought the matter to the notice of the PWD, an official said the PWD has no role to play in respect of parking, saying it has to execute the project on the space made available by the concerned department.
The official, however, has offered a solution to tide over the parking issue in the future, by making available dedicated parking spaces in the SGPDA parking lot, located opposite the District Court building.
“This is just a suggestion since the SGDPA parking lot is located just opposite the court complex. It is, however, for the government to take a call”, the PWD official added.
