Lease holders in limbo after CCP seals ‘unsafe’ Panaji market building

Panaji: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) sealed several shops in the Panaji market building near El Dorado after it was deemed ‘unsafe’ for occupancy. The building has now been cordoned off. This decision followed a structural analysis by the Goa College of Engineering, commissioned by CCP.

“This building is a very dangerous case,” head of civil engineering department, Goa Engineering College, Ganesh Hegde, told TOI. “The columns are floating and the concrete is falling apart. We shared the official test report with the CCP in this regard. We also advised the CCP to vacate the tenants as soon as possible for their own safety,” he said.

Section 272 of the City of Panaji Corporation Act empowers the CCP to serve notices and evict people from unsafe buildings. However, lease holders of the old municipality building who received eviction notices are now in a state of uncertainty and have taken the matter to court. A total of 13 lease holders and around 40 workers employed at the commercial establishments in the building were given 24 hours’ eviction notice.

“This is inhumane. The CCP should have rehabilitated us before evicting us. Our livelihood is at stake, and for many of the staffers, this is their only source of income. We have approached the court for relief,” said one of the leaseholders. “Tenants always paid rent on time for the past 50 years. The CCP should have maintained the building with the rental income. There is no clarity on whether we will be allowed to return to the building after it’s demolished and reconstructed,” another lease holder said.

In Oct 2024, the CCP took up the demolition of the old municipal market building, which houses the fish market. CCP commissioner Clen Madeira issued an eviction notice, directing fish vendors to vacate the old municipal market before the demolition process started. Madeira remained unresponsive about queries regarding the latest building’s eviction. The fate of the lease holders therefore hangs in limbo until the court hearing on June 3.

TOI reported earlier that the CCP’s routine inspection of old, dilapidated, and dangerous structures within the city limits revealed that 23 buildings were structurally unsafe. The list includes Clube Nacional in the Vaglo Building, Navrat Apartments at St Inez, Palace Hotel behind the Adil Shah Palace, and Progress High School, besides other structures near the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church.