TEAM HERALD
CURCHOREM: Decks have finally been cleared to construct a new municipal building after demolishing the old municipal building near the railway station in Curchorem.
After several rounds of talks, Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral and the Curchorem-Cacora Municipal Council (CCMC) on Tuesday succeeded in persuading the lessees of the old building to accept the council’s decision to construct a new municipal building.
The construction plan prepared by the consultant was finally approved after many alterations, as suggested by the council and occupants of the building.
A meeting was convened on Tuesday between the lessees and councilors of Curchorem-Cacora Municipal Council (CCMC), in the presence of Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral, the consultant’s representative Arvind Datar, GSUDA’s Deputy Chief Project Officer Anil Rigne, Assistant Project Engineer Amit Shirodkar, CCMC Chairperson Carmelina Fernandes, Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes and Municipal Engineer Uday Dessai.
“The proposed building will consist of a three-storeyed building with basement parking facilities. Tenders will be out by June end or July and work will start in October. It will be completed within a year,” informed Cabral.
“There will be 88 shops in the municipal building and the existing lessee will be accommodated first, while the remaining shops will be auctioned later,” he added.
Speaking to Herald, CCMC Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes was pleased that the lessees had finally agreed to demolish the old building, which was built in 1962.
It may be recalled that the PWD had inspected the building about 10 years ago and had declared the building to be unsafe.
Acting on advice of the PWD, the CCMC had made many unsuccessful attempts in the past to persuade the lessees to demolish the old building and to construct a new structure in its place. Curchorem MLA Cabral took the initiative and finally succeeded in persuading the lessees to accept the council’s proposal.
