MARGAO
The Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) may have handed over the new district hospital building, but a burning question has come to stare at the Directorate of Health Services and Hospicio doctors – will the Health Director and Hospicio dare risk commission the district hospital sans the mandatory fire clearance from the Fire Services.
Investigations by The Goan have only revealed that there is no final fire NOC issued by the fire department for the district hospital to date. And, the reason is not far too seek. The executing department, Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has to date not cleared the construction license fees to the Margao Municipal Council though work on the hospital project had commenced around a decade ago.
Inquiries from the Margao municipality have further revealed that the GSIDC has not cleared the construction license fees to the civic body, amounting to a whopping Rs 69.5 lakh. And, if sources in the MMC are to be believed, the GSIDC will also have to pay the civic body renewal license fees, which may run into several lakhs of rupees.
Failure on the part of the GSIDC to clear the construction license fees and the renewal license fees will not entitle the GSIDC to obtain the occupancy certificate from the civic body for the district hospital building, which in turn will come in the way of the GSIDC obtaining the final NOC from the Fire Services.
When The Goan contacted GSIDC Managing Director Jude Carvalho to shed light on the payment of construction license fees to the MMC as claimed by civic officials, he said, “Actually, the Director of Health Services is required to bear the payment of such statutory fees. But, they have asked the GSIDC to bear it.”
He hastened to add that the GSIDC has moved a proposal to the government to seek waiver of the payment of fees to the MMC in view of the Covid-19 pandemic situation as a special case since the district hospital building is a government project.
“The GSIDC has got the approval from the Town and Country Planning department as well as the provisional fire NOC from the fire services,” Jude said, adding that the final fire NOC will depend on the government decision on waiver of fees to the civic body.
Sources in the Fire Services told The Goan that the GSIDC has till date not approached the department for the issuance of fire NOC for the South district hospital. A senior fire official had no answer when his attention was drawn to the fact that the Directorate of Health Services has already shifted the OPD services and the male and medicine wards in the new hospital.
“Technically speaking, the Health Services cannot operate from the new district hospital since it has no final NOC from the fire services. We will wait for the GSIDC on this count,” informed the fire officer.
