PANJIM: The first day of the Monsoon Session of the Goa Legislative Assembly on Tuesday witnessed ruckus over the issue of collapse of the stage roof of the open air auditorium of Kala Academy.
The Opposition members holding placards rushed to the well of the House after Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar denied permission to move the adjournment motion notice to suspend the Question Hour to discuss the matter of urgent importance.
The Opposition members demanded resignation of Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude owing responsibility for the collapse of a portion of Kala Academy on Sunday night. The Speaker adjourned the House for half-an-hour after Opposition members were not ready to go back to their seats.
The Speaker told them that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will make a statement on the issue soon after the end of the Question Hour but in vain.
After the House reassembled, the Opposition continued disruption for a few minutes while Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai continued his protest in the well of the House. The other members participated in Question Hour with Sant Andre MLA Viresh Borkar tabling his question.
During Zero Hour, CM assured members that anybody found guilty will not be spared in this incident. He said that the PWD principal chief engineer has been asked to conduct an investigation and submit a preliminary inquiry report within the next two days while the investigation report by the IIT-Roorkee will be laid on Table of the House before the end of the Monsoon Session.
Sawant said that the Kala Academy building was a 43-year-old structure and the collapsed portion of the open air auditorium had no support to hold besides being corroded.
Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao alleged that the ongoing Kala Academy renovation work had become a monument of corruption and demanded to know who will take moral responsibility for the incident.
Meanwhile, the Goa Forward Party on Tuesday filed an application in the High Court of Bombay at Goa, seeking urgent hearing in the Kala Academy’s stage roof collapse. The High Court posted the matter for hearing on August 7.
The Court is also hearing another petition challenging the government’s decision to award the contract of renovation of Kala Academy on nomination basis and not by floating a tender.
In May 2021, the State Cabinet awarded the works on nomination basis to M/s Techton Buildcons Private Limited to undertake structural repairs and renovation works including water proofing work, electrical work, HVAC external drainage work allied with civil works at a total cost of Rs 49,57,11,000.