Team Herald
PORVORIM: Congress MLAs claim a scam in doubling the construction cost of the Court building at Merces. Ponda MLA Ravi Naik raised the issue in the State legislative assembly on Thursday alleging scam in the tender process.
Naik informed the House that the tender was issued for the cost of Rs 92 cr but it was later increased to Rs 143 cr, an increase by Rs 51 cr.
Minister for Public Works Department (PWD) Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar informed the House that the cost was escalated because the area under construction was later doubled.
“Construction of new Court Complex at Merces, awarded to M/s M Venkata Rao Infra Projects Pvt. Ltd., Panjim at a cost of Rs 143.17 cr was undertaken without the prior approval of Expenditure Finance Committee. The projects have been processed for ex-post facto sanction of the Government”, Minister informed the House.
Congress MLAs Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and Luizinho Faleiro also questioned how the construction cost increased once the tender is issued.
Faleiro and Lourenco both demanded for an inquiry into the financial irregularities involved in the process of tendering and eventually increasing the construction cost of the building.
“Who is responsible for it? Who will bear the losses that the State Government has lost? Why is there no fixing of responsibility”, Lourenco questioned.
The Minister said that the GSR (Goa Schedule of Rate) of PWD increased in the year 2015 while the GSR of 2011 was low.
“This is the reason why the cost was escalated in addition to the increase of areas under construction,” said Dhavalikar.
“I don’t feel there is any irregularity”, the minister replied.
