TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Blame it on official lethargy or plain politics, grandiose plan by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar-Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai combine to relocate the St Francis Xavier chapels at Madel and Fatorda have hit a roadblock.
Relocation of the two chapels was mooted in the GSIDC tender floated for the widening of the Ambaji-Agalli road in view of the Lusofonia Games. While it’s nearly a fortnight since curtains came down on the Lusofonia games and work on the road widening presently underway, nothing has been heard on the relocation of the two chapels as per the tender.
Herald inquiries have revealed that while the chapel at the stadium junction at Fatorda is awaiting relocation in view of the impasse over the rehabilitation of the couple of stalls adjoining the chapel, the relocation of the Madel chapel located on the KTC-Old market road is stuck up in bureaucratic delays.
The Chief Minister had last year promised to allot Margao Municipal Council land admeasuring 800 sq mts for the relocation of the St Francis Xavier chapel at Madel. Nothing, however, has moved in that direction with the office of the Director of Municipal Administration confirming that the request has not been okayed by the government till date.
That’s not all. The South Goa Planning and Development Authority has now written to the DMA’s office that the land in question at Madel acquired by the Margao civic body for parking is not shown on the cadastral survey plan. And the PDA’s correspondence to the DMA’s office indicates that the SGPDA is unlikely to give any approvals unless the land is shown on the cadastral survey plan.
As far as the Nehru stadium junction chapel is concerned, sources said the government has given its approval for additional space for the relocation, but the impasse continues over the adjoining stalls. A row has also surfaced over the question of relocating the fish vendors near the stalls at the stadium.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, however, said the plan to relocate and re-build the two chapels of St Francis Xavier at Madel and near the Nehru stadium junction is very much on the agenda. “There’s no problem from the chapel committee for its relocation at the Nehru stadium, but the question over the allotment of space for the adjoining stalls remains unresolved”, he admitted, while saying that he has discussed the relocation of the two chapels with the Chief Minister with a plea to clear hurdles in the way of shifting of the two place of worship. “Here, the committees of the chapels have volunteered for the relocation of the place of worship. The government should resolve the minor hurdles and complete the relocation work at the earliest”, Sardesai said.
The Fatorda MLA said the Chief Minister is expected to take a final call on the issue during his next visit to the constituency.
