The new District Court building under construction at Margao has come under fire with the South Goa Advocates Association resolving to object the construction as the parking lot planned is abysmally small and will not be sufficient to park even the staff vehicles.
A senior member of the Association said that parking for only 18 cars is provided in the proposed new building which will be having nine court rooms, thereby indicating that nine parking slots will go to the judges. Besides, there will be at least four public prosecutors who will need a parking slot for them.
That would leave only five parking slots free which would naturally be occupied by the court staff including the Registrar and Superintendents. Thus there will be no parking space available for the various advocates and litigants visiting the court to attend their cases.
At present, of the eight court rooms in the District and Sessions Court at Margao, only four are functioning. Yet there is such a scramble for parking at the court building by litigants, even advocates are forced to park their vehicles by the road side or even in the SGPDA grounds and walk across to the court.
“What’s the point of having a new building if it does not address the main issue of parking, not a luxury but a necessity in present times?” said one advocate.
The court building, which is expected to cost around Rs 30 crore is being constructed by the PWD and the first phase of laying the plinth is underway. The actual work of constructing the building is yet to be tendered.
PWD engineers agreed that parking could be an issue but pointed out that any change in the plans at this stage would delay the project.
