Porvorim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant told the House on Wednesday that the Goa Cricket Association (GCA) is not serious about constructing a stand in Pernem for which 1.89 lakh sqm has been leased to it by govt. He said that eight years have passed, and the GCA hasn’t even applied to the PWD for road access. In two more years, at the end of the ten-year lease, the land will be taken back by govt if construction does not begin, he said.Sawant said that last year, a show cause notice was issued to GCA, but the reply it provided was not satisfactory. Sawant said that the land is prime property today, with Manohar International Airport and the Ayush hospital in the vicinity. He also said that another govt department could put the land to better use.The CM also said that GCA has paid only Rs 9.4 crore to govt of the Rs 19 crore it was to pay. “We issued a show cause notice to them last year, asked why should the lease not be terminated, and why the land should not be diverted for another project. They have not acquired the required permissions needed to create the ground,” he said.Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar said that the land was given to GCA in 2018 and govt has not pressed for the project’s progress. Arlekar said that the land should be taken back by govt and utilised by the state to create sports facilities for Pernem taluka instead. The CM, however, said that this is not an option.“There are 153 grounds across Goa, but hardly 10-15 are being utilised. In Mencurem, I saw a ground with toilets and all facilities, but which is not being put to use. No other state has such facilities. There is one ground in every taluka. At this rate, in Goa, each panchayat will have a ground or I am afraid it will be two grounds per panchayat,” said Sawant. He said that GCA can identify land elsewhere if they cannot construct the project there for some reason.Leader of opposition Yuri Alemao said that govt has not added any penalty clause in the lease for GCA if it does not execute the project within the ten-year period. Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar said that GCA has not even objected to high tension power lines going over the land.
