PANJIM: The proposed football ground at Campal, Panjim, which was dropped by Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) will now be built by the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL), if approved by the Union Ministry of Urban Development.
In January this year, the GSUDA general body decided to drop the construction of a football stadium ground at Campal Parade ground due to delay in getting the non-objection certificate (NOC) from the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department and due to the financial crunch. The land admeasuring 40,000 square metres belongs to TCP.
At the same time, the GSUDA general body had also opined that the project could be taken up at a later stage if TCP issues the NOC and if the alternative source of funding for the project could be arranged.
Later, IPSCDL at its board meeting decided to take up the construction work of the football ground under the Smart City/Amrut Mission Scheme of the Government of India through the GSUDSA as deposit work and since the latter had already worked on the project the IPSCDL changed the work nomenclature as “Rejuvenation of Campal area of Panaji City as green space with recreation centre.”
Also the State-level Technical Committee meeting held on February 19, 20210, accorded administrative approved to the project for Rs 30.09 crore.
IPSCDL has now submitted the project proposal to the Union Ministry of Urban Development and are awaiting its approval
In the meantime, TCP in March this year conveyed its approval to GSUDA to utilise the land for development of football stadium-cum-parade ground with condition that the project should handed over back to the department after completion, unconditionally.
The football ground at Campal was considered to be the pet project of former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar, who had promised to build it after the demolition of the Bandodkar Ground at Campal in 2004, to create parking facility for delegates of the maiden International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
