More and more promises, some surprises, some courtesy visits and no actual work at the site is the sorry state of affairs at the District Hospital in Margao. Initially started at a cost of Rs 92.66 crore in 2009, it has doubled today. The Hospital project in South Goa is now infamous for being the most promising, yet most ignored government project in Goa. The foundation stone for the 556 bed district hospital which also includes a 50 bed cancer unit and 100 bed super specialty cardiac centre of excellence was laid in Margao in December 2008. Sadly, however, after six years and five months, the work is still stagnant in phase 2 and currently frozen.
The project was intended for the well-being of South Goans and is now in the news, ironically for the spread of malaria in the locality. After its initiation in 2008, the time frame given for the completion of the entire project was 36 months. During the initial period, the work began rapidly but has, since, slowed down dramatically.
For the work to progress from phase 1 to phase 2, it took 77 months. This has taken a toll on the treasury with costs to keep the project running doubling over time. The estimated cost for the project during the initiation was Rs 92.66 crore and it has now swelled to a whopping Rs 174 crore. Following complaints of the slow progress, Rs 81 crore worth of work has been re-tendered to a new contractor. However, even after bringing the project out of its comatose state, there is still a confusing decision to be made regarding the allotment of floors towards the nursing institute which was proposed in the initial structure.
The idea behind the District Hospital project was to shift the location of Hospicio hospital which would alleviate problems of traffic, poor facilities and space constraint. The city of Margao deals with a huge traffic load on an every day basis and this is a hindrance to the residents of the locality. The shifting of the location of Hospicio will surely ease the load that the city faces. In addition to the problems faced by the district hospital project, conditions at Hospicio hospital have also worsened off late with lifts in non-working condition and electrical and plumbing systems giving way.
The Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has set a time frame of 21 months for the completion of the work which will now begin only after the monsoon season ends. The general manager of the GSIDC, Subhash Nage said, “The work order for the new tender will be issued by the August 15 and the work will begin in the month of October.” Even after three health ministers and 3 chief ministers have changed office, the project is stagnant with the foundation stone plaque which is yet to be inaugurated and has had to deal with ailing patients for the past 6 years.
