Cold storage facility in limbo as SGPDA fails to hand over land for Phase III work of fish market project

GSIDC officials fear continued delays may prompt the contractor to walk out of the project.

Photo Credits: The Goan

MARGAO
Officials of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC), the agency executing the multi-crore work on the construction of a modern wholesale fish market at Margao, appear a worried lot.

Reason: Not only is the project running behind schedule as work is stuck on the market under construction with the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) time and again failing to hand over the remaining portion of the market space to take up Phase III of the modern market, but the very future of the cold storage facility proposed in Goa’s lone wholesale fish market hangs in balance.

Otherwise, consider this. Unless the SGPDA hands over the rest of the market space, the contractor engaged by the GSIDC cannot resume work on Phase III of the project. If work on Phase III does not start, the provision for a spacious cold storage facility will not see light of the day. According to sources, the Central government may raise audit queries if the proposed cold storage facility is not put in place. The Centre had sanctioned the wholesale fish market construction at Margao on the premise that the market would include a spacious cold storage facility.

If the proposed cold storage does not take shape at the wholesale fish market, the local fishing community, including the traditional fishermen and boat owners, will be denied access to cold storage amenities at the complex.

GSIDC officials in private say that the absence of a cold storage facility at the wholesale fish market will not only defeat the very objective behind the upgradation of the wholesale fish market but will deprive the local fishing community of the value for the fish catch.

A GSIDC official told The Goan that failure to commence work on the cold storage facility in Phase III of the market project will be seen as an attempt to scuttle the project, inviting queries from the central government.

The stalemate over the commencement of work on Phase III of the market project has thrown up a question or two – When would the SGPDA temporarily shift the wholesale fish market operations to pave the way for the GSIDC-appointed contractor to take up the remaining work on the market project, including the cold storage facility?

Inquiries by The Goan revealed that GSIDC officials indeed are in a state of fix, even fearing the contractor may just walk out if there is further delay by the SGPDA or the government to hand over the rest of the market land for the Phase III of the project.

“The contractor has almost completed Phase I and Phase II of the project. Only the internal finishing remains to be completed. As of now, there’s no sign of the SGPDA handing over the rest of the land to the GSIDC to take up Phase III of the project,” the GSIDC official remarked.

“The GSIDC and the contractor would have completed the work of plinth of the Phase III before the onset of monsoons if the land was handed over by the SGDPA. This would have helped to expedite the work on the project.”

'Lack of initiative' blamed for project delays

It’s now a fortnight since the chairperson of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) unveiled plans to temporarily shift the wholesale fish market in Margao to the Verna Industrial Estate to pave the way for the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) to commence work on Phase III of the project.

A final decision on the relocating of the wholesale fish market seemed not forthcoming for reasons best known to the SGDPA as well as the local political players. The SGPDA has yet to make a firm decision on the temporary shifting of the wholesale fish market so far, delaying the commencement of work on Phase III of the project.

When The Goan called up SGDPA Chairman Krishna Daji Salkar to seek details on the plan to temporarily shift the wholesale fish market to the Verna Industrial Estate, the Vasco MLA said the PDA has identified a shed in the Verna IDC, indicating that the SGPDA is yet to inspect the facility.

GSIDC officials, on the other hand, said that if the SGPDA cannot get the Verna IDC shed, it should look out for an alternate venue in and around Margao to shift the market.

"The temporary shifting of the market is just for three months. It’s surprising that the PDA as well as the political leaders from Margao and Fatorda have not shown interest in identifying land for the market,” remarked a GSIDC official, hoping the PDA and the powers that be take an early decision to pave the way for a cold storage facility to come up at the wholesale fish market.