The heavy downpour in the last two months has embarrassed a number of authorities following the incidents of walls and roofs of government-owned buildings collapsing due to the strong winds and rains.
While the roof of the open-air auditorium of the under-renovation Kala Academy collapsed in Panjim, the wall of another heritage structure, the Margao Urban Health Centre (UCH) collapsed in the commercial capital of Goa.
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There have been incidents reported in other parts of the State too with the authorities concerned rushing to carry out site inspections after the damage has already been done. In the UHC’s case, a stability report is being conducted while the health centre has been shifted to the Old Hospicio building nearby.
Against that backdrop concerns have been raised if authorities like municipalities are doing enough to check on the number of old and in some cases abandoned buildings within its jurisdiction.
Speaking on the dilapidated structures located at various places in Margao, the former Margao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson Savio Coutinho stated that the Council has failed to update the list of hazardous structures that was last prepared in the year 2012. He also pointed out an interesting fact that, with the exception of the building portion that collapsed at the entrance of the Gandhi market, all other structures that collapsed during the last few years did not figure in the list of dilapidated structures, thus confirming the requirement of a fresh survey to identify such structures.
“The MMC building itself faces a severe threat as we can see the entire building damp and soaked with water,” he said further. This neglect on the part of the Council, which incidentally scrutinizes plans of other private multi storey buildings, is totally unacceptable,” Coutinho added. The old Municipal ‘Camara’ building in Old Market is another example of dilapidated structure that could collapse in the near future.
While a part of an old building at the entrance of Gandhi market had come crashing down last July, there was another incident in October 2022 when the concrete plaster of a building at the Pimpalkatta junction came crashing down, damaging a car and injuring one person.
After the October incident, the then South Goa Collector Jyoti Kumari has instructed MMC to re-survey the unsafe buildings in their jurisdiction and submit a report at the earliest. She had taken this decision after MMC had submitted an old report of buildings that had been declared unsafe years ago even though she had asked for an updated list. A time-bound directive was issued for getting the latest list given that it was discovered that there are many more old buildings that are in a bad shape, which are clearly visible to the public but there was no mention of the same in the MMC’s outdated list. Some of these buildings not only have a large presence of vegetation over them, they also have steel or concrete rods protruding or parts that have cracks and could come crashing down on the roads at any time.
At that point of time, MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar had assured that
the survey would be completed in a matter of days.
“In a list prepared by the MMC earlier, it was found that there are around 21 unsafe buildings in Margao. Upon the notices served to them by the civic body, many owners of the said buildings had even submitted their stability reports. A few building owners have prepared stability reports through private agencies. Actually, it should have been done by the agencies or individuals registered with the government,” said Shirodkar.
The Chairperson also said that the civic body would take a legal opinion with regard to the demolition of the unsafe buildings, as there are apprehensions that a few people who own these unsafe buildings are waiting for MMC to demolish their structures to avoid having to pay for the demolition themselves.
However, fast forward to ten months later and the fresh survey of old and dilapidated buildings has not been completed even though the monsoon fury of 2023 has already wreaked havoc in Margao.
While Kumar is no longer the South Goa District Magistrate, her instructions to the MMC have been left on the backburner whereas the officials who are part of the Disaster Management Authority, that the District Magistrate heads, have not followed up on the matter either.
In fact, during a meeting convened by the present District Collector Asvin Chandru, the Health Officer of the Margao UHC, Dr Socorro Quadros had sought the cooperation of the MMC in carrying out inspections of abandoned old buildings in the town as part of its anti-vector borne disease prevention drives that it has been carrying out.
He pointed out that they have seen how there are tanks atop of these old buildings and that they had wanted to check if there are any mosquito breeding sites in these tanks or in the building but they were unable to enter the building.
He added that they were not getting the information of the owners such as the address of the owners and thus needed these details from the MMC so that they can track the concerned persons.
Sources at MMC stated the official that had been entrusted with completing the survey is yet to submit the updated list and that the matter is under the responsibility of MMC’s technical section.
“In the criteria for declaring a building as unsafe, one of the main requirements is that a structural stability test has to be undertaken. Now these tests are done by agencies but fees have to be paid for the same,” a MMC engineer said.
“So, when it comes to the old buildings that are in a dilapidated condition, these tasks get delayed over who will pay the fees for the stability test? There have been times when neither the owner nor the tenant has shown interest in undertaking such tests,” he added.
Experts pointed out that the matter should be addressed by the DMA headed by the District Magistrate in a holistic manner as opposed to just the MMC so that that inputs from the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA), PWD, Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department should also be taken into consideration on how best to proceed. There is also the issue of who will bear the costs of the demolition.
Experts referred to how many of these old buildings have the issue of owners having a legal tussle with the tenants who are paying the old and paltry rental fees and that any plans to either renovate, demolish or even sell the building to a new owner who can maintain the premises is stalled because of these problems between the owners and the tenants.
Even in the case of conducting a structural stability report, the onus again falls on the owner and not the tenants, with the exception where the tenants are proactive and are eager to find a solution rather than wait to have the building come crumbling down and lose their shop permanently.
“Many of these buildings are located in prime locations. The owner can make a huge profit if it is sold. That would take care of the old building, which would be razed down so that the new owner can build a new building,” a property law expert said.
“But even there are challenges and there are court cases going for decades now. There have been cases where the new owner arranged a settlement with the old tenant either with a flat in the new building or compensation but this is a very expensive option and not all can afford to do this” added the expert.
“So far there have been instances like the UHC wall collapsing, wherein property has been damaged. Tomorrow there could be an instance where a building collapses and there will be loss of life. There has to be some urgency in this matter and it cannot be just kept for a later date. A dedicated team should be created with a short but adequate time period to at least collect the data and put on record what the owners or tenants have to say and then a solution can be found case by case basis,” said Akhil Naik, resident of Margao.
