TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, who was recently questioned by V K Jha commission on the fatal collapse of Ruby Residency building at Canacona conceded that he had obtained Rs 26 lakh government loan to buy a residential apartment in the building way back in 2008.
“As legislators we get loan from the Goa Legislative Assembly. I purchased the flat for Rs 24.10 lakh. The additional Rs 1.90 lakh loan amount was to carry out renovation of the flat…” he told a section of the media on the sidelines of a briefing on Friday evening.
Tawadkar was quizzed by the inquiry panel for around 90 minutes last week during which he was asked questions relating to the flat purchased by him at Ruby Residency, his office in the building and the permissions granted by the authorities for the construction project.
He said the amount was paid to builders Pradip Singh Birring and Jagdeep Kumar Sehgal, who went into hiding soon after the collapse that claimed lives of 31 labourers and injured many others this January. Both former directors of Vashi-based Bharat Developers and Realtors Pvt Ltd have been declared proclaimed offenders. They are also booked for disregarding non-bailable warrants issued against them by a local court.
The crime branch had earlier raided various locations in Goa and Mumbai and seized documents. A total of nine senior government officers, who now stand suspended, including a contractor were arrested in connection with the case. While Crime Branch sleuths are awaiting forensic report of the construction materials from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Hyderabad, Goa Engineering College had certified the material as sub standard.
