Govt to rebuild Saligao market

PANJIM, FEB 1
“The government will use its discretionary power to order demolition of Saligao Panchayat market building and a new building will be constructed,” Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said on the floor of the House on Tuesday.
Kamat was responding to a “Calling Attention” motion moved by Saligao MLA Dilip Parulekar.
The Saligao MLA, said the structure which was declared unsafe by the PWD in 2004 has not been demolished as yet, and it is posing danger to life and safety of people residing in the vicinity of panchayat building.
Earlier, PWD Minister Churchill Alemao told the House that there are no clear documents of the existing structure and the Saligao panchayat has requested the department of settlements and land records to carry out the demarcation of the market complex.
The demarcation has not been carried out as yet, Churchill said.
The PWD minister also told the House that District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) does not demolish any old structures and it is up to the panchayat concerned to demolish old structure.
He said that his department would forward the proposal for reconstruction of panchayat market complex to DRDA.
This reply was rejected by Opposition Leader Manohar Parrikar and Saligao MLA.
At this point, the chief minister said the government would use its discretionary powers to demolish the unsafe structure to make way for a new building.