anil kumar mishra
anilkumar@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Artistes especially tiatrists and tiatr lovers are in for some bad news, as Kala Academy, Goa’s premier cultural centre, which was mired in controversies over renovation works, is now set to remain closed yet again for two months and this time for rectification work.
In a latest development, the Public Works Department (PWD) has directed its two sub-division offices to begin the rectification work at Kala Academy.
The action follows the recommendations put forth by the Task Force Committee which met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant with its suggestions recently. However, to carry out the rectification work, the Kala Academy will remain closed for at least two months.
“The Kala Academy has been asked not to accept bookings tentatively for July and August because to carry out the rectification work, the institution will have to be closed,” a senior PWD official said.
According to the official, the contractors previously assigned to the project will be in charge of undertaking the corrective work.
“The main work will be related to light, sound and acoustics. If it is found that substandard work has been carried out then the contractor will be asked to rectify without making him any extra amount of money,” the official said.
He said the work of the open auditorium will be taken up separately as it was not the part of scope of work carried out till now.
However, Devidas Amonkar, Kala Rakhonn Mand Convenor, told O Heraldo that the cost of renovation should not be escalated due to the fresh work.
“Whatever work will be carried out now should be covered under the estimate prepared earlier. The government should get the work done from those who have not done it properly and should not pay any extra amount for that,” he said.
Amonkar said, “Our demand is that the Kala Academy should be in its original shape. We know a lot of time has been consumed and there has been a significant amount of loss to culture. There are many generations who have learnt and performed at Kala Academy. But this culture has been hit for around five or six years. This has caused a lot of damage to Kala Academy and artistes.”
“What is done is a matter of the past but now we want that the Kala Academy should be restored to its original shape and there should not be extra money paid for that,” Amonkar said.
After being closed for close to three years, the iconic building, which was mired in controversies, was reopened in November 2023.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said the Kala Academy auditorium would be open 365 days for all artistes and would be available for bookings from December.
The Kala Academy was caught in the controversy following reports appeared that renovation works costing Rs 49.57 crore was awarded to M/s Techton Buildcon Pvt Ltd, through nomination process, thereby violating the guidelines set for procurement of works by Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Central Vigilance Commission guidelines and the Central PWD Rules.