Team Herald
PONDA: Following a row on the Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir (RGKM) extension works, PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and former Chief Minister Ravi Naik have demanded investigations into each other’s projects.
The fight started at a press conference on Sunday, when Dhavalikar said he would ask the chief minister for an investigation into the “unplanned” extension work of the RGKM during Naik’s tenure.
Dhavalikar alleged that Naik, the GSIDC, PWD and the Ponda municipality was responsible for constructing a septic tank and soak pit for the RGKM near the main pipeline of the water treatment plant at Khandepar, which passes behind the building. He stated that the pipeline had to be shifted this week, as there was a possibility of sewage seeping into the pipeline and causing a major health issue.
“Naik’s irresponsible act of demolishing and extending the RGKM in an unplanned manner has led to a two-day water shortage in Ponda, Marcaim and Shiroda. Further, the PWD incurred unnecessary expenditure of Rs 28 lakh to shift the pipeline,” said Naik, adding, “There was no need to renovate and extend the old RGKM building, which could still serve the people. The renovation and extension work is incomplete for the past five years despite spending around Rs 45 crore.
Dhavalikar also stated that there was only a small chance of the building being inaugurated on December 19 as expected by the government and demanded a judicial probe into extension of the RGKM.
Meanwhile, Naik refuted the allegations and stated that Dhavalikar is unnecessarily misleading the people. He also demanded that the government inquire into the expenditure incurred on the Kashimath ground project recently constructed by Dhavalikar in Marcaim constituency.
According to Naik, the pipeline that was shifted by the PWD was 150 metres away from the RGKM and is not connected to the building. He asked Dhavalikar to visit the site and verify it himself and also rubbished his claim of spending Rs 28 lakhs on the shifting,
Naik further stated that the Kala Mandir was only partly demolished for the extension work, which was taken up as artists were facing many difficulties due to lack of modern facilities in the theatre.
“Dhavalikar made no effort to complete the work in the last three years. Instead, he is blaming me unnecessarily to gain peoples sympathy,” said Naik, who challenged Dhavalikar to name a few development projects that were set up by him during his tenure.
