Goemkarponn Desk
VASCO: Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar on Friday launched the work to demolish the unsafe and dilapidated municipal building in the port town.
The work was launched in the presence of Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Leo Rodrigues, other municipal councillors and Vasco BJP Mandal President Deepak Naik.
Speaking to reporters, Salkar said while there have been many unsafe and dilapidated municipal buildings, this building located in the heart of the city was the first building to be demolished.
“The MMC chairperson and municipal engineers inspected the structure along with the contractor because this building is in between two buildings and heavy machinery cannot be used here,” said Salkar.
Salkar said the building will demolished manually with minimum damage to adjoining properties.
“The building will be demolished within a month and the land after demolition will belong to the MMC after which they can take a call on how to use the property. There are many other private buildings which are unsafe and we have advised occupants to discuss the matter with the owners and sort it out because it can be dangerous for people in the monsoons,” said Salkar.
“I have asked the MMC to expedite the work or we may work out a plan where the MMC can demolish unsafe buildings and put the cost on the owners or MMC can seal the place for the safety of the public. We have discussed with the minister and we are also planning to redevelop municipal buildings under the PPP model, if possible,” said Salkar.
MMC Chairperson Leo Rodrigues said the building demolition work would cost Rs 4 lakh and work would be finished in 21 days.
“We had made a special request to the contractor to charge us a moderate amount considering our financial situation. He volunteered to take it up at basic cost. We took a joint meeting with the councillors and MLA and also met engineers consultants before the work can begin,” said Rodrigues.
Vasco BJP Mandal President Deepak Naik said it was a historic moment because the first unsafe MMC building was finally being demolished.
“I have been in the council for 23 years and while we always discuss and debate and even declare buildings as unsafe, we have never demolished any building. This is the first example where MMC is demolishing its own unsafe building and this is strong message to private players to demolish their unsafe, dilapidated and vacant buildings for the safety of the people.”
“It is time that MMC takes action on unsafe buildings whether it is government or private owner, because in the event of any disaster, the MMC should not be blamed.”
“The MMC has ready issued notices to the owners and occupants of unsafe buildings and MMC must start taking action, keeping the safety of the people in mind,” said Naik.
