MARGAO: In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Charles Correa Foundation (CCF) red-flagged the ‘drastic changes’ being made to Kala Academy’s foyer and the main Dinanath Mangueshkar auditorium, which has original murals by artist Mario Miranda. It also criticised the appointment of a three-member vigilance committee to scrutinise the alleged irregularities and corruption in the renovation works, pointing out that the three members are government employees, and the renovation work is being supervised by a Minister.
“If we really want a proper investigation, the government should appoint three experienced engineers and architects from the private sector to constitute the Committee. These would be experts in the field of restoration, government tendering procedures, estimating, and costing and/or in project management, and people who will not fear retribution. The Committee in its present form will not be objective and sincere in their critique of the work being carried out,” said Nondita Correa Mehrotra, CCF Director, in the statement.
The statement said that the CCF understands the necessity for the Government of Goa to probe the alleged irregularities and corruption in the renovation of Kala Academy.
Referring to the High Court’s judgement which states that the building will ‘only be repaired to preserve and up-keep the same’, and the subsequent statements issued by the Goa government wherein they had assured the public that the work on Kala Academy was a restoration project, CCF expressed disappointment over several ‘tacky and gaudy additions to the cultural centre. “The foyer was designed in a simple and elegant manner with grey Shabad stone and white china mosaic tiles that befits this building. The flooring now has been changed, with nondescript gaudy splashes of coloured tiles around each column and other tacky finishes,” said Mehrotra.
“Similarly, the design of the large, enclosed Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditorium was a remarkable collaboration of Charles Correa’s architectural style and Bolt, Beranek and Newman’s acoustic genius, with original murals by Mario Miranda. This auditorium design is truly unique, internationally significant, and should be respected and maintained. While we appreciate the use of advances in acoustic technology since the building’s conception could be used to appropriately restore the building with the necessary improvements, there is absolutely no reason to make such drastic changes to the aesthetics of the space,” CCF added further. In its second statement, CCF questioned the objectivity and sincerity of the Vigilance Committee’s report.
“Furthermore, one of the Committee members is from the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) and was a part of the controversial Kala Academy renovations in 2004, as Manager-Engineering. It has been established that the unscientific work done in 2004 has led to at least some of the major structural issues we see today. Appointing him to the Committee is a conflict of interest,” CCF added.
