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‘Shah Jahan didn’t call for quotations for Taj Mahal’: Goa minister to critics
The Goa minister was responding to the Opposition’s allegation that the renovation work of iconic Kala Academy Complex in Panaji was given to an agency on a nomination basis without due tender process
Cornered by the Opposition parties over failing to call for quotations before approving the ₹49-crore cost of renovation of the iconic Kala Academy Complex in Panaji, Goa’s minister for arts and culture Govind Gaude sought to defend the government on Wednesday claiming that even Shah Jahan didn’t call for quotations before building the Taj Mahal in Agra.
The cultural hub in Goa’s capital, Panaji, was designed by renowned architect Charles Correa.
“My esteemed colleague must have certainly visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was started to be built in 1632 and completed in 1653. Till today it looks beautiful and everlasting. Why do you think that is? Because Shah Jahan didn’t invite quotations when building the Taj Mahal and for 390 years it remains as it was,” Gaude told the Goa Legislative Assembly.
Opposition legislator Vijai Sardesai alleged that the work which was awarded to a specialised agency Techton Buildcons Pvt Ltd was done so without following due tender process in violation of the Central Public Works Department rules.
“The work has been given on a nomination basis without tender because of a specialised agency. This tender violates the CPWD manual. Specialised work also needs tenders,” Sardesai alleged.
“The work is of specialised nature, it was decided to award this work to a specialised agency,” Gaude said in his reply during the question hour.
Built in 1983, Kala Academy also has renowned caricaturist Mario Miranda’s hand-painted murals adorning the walls of its main auditorium and the work of acoustic consultants Bolt Beranek and Newman, the world’s foremost acoustic consultants who also designed the acoustics of the United Nations permanent headquarters in New York.
The building was among the first cultural centres in the newly liberated territory of Goa and quickly emerged as a centre for art, culture and music. Its main auditorium is named after Dinanath Mangeshkar, the father of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who hailed from Goa.
Earlier the Charles Correa Foundation raised apprehensions on the nature of the ‘renovation’ being done at the Kala Academy saying that the work will significantly alter the aesthetics of the building and that it will “no longer be the same building”.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court at Goa allowed the Goa government to go ahead with the work on the building after the state submitted a written assurance that it will not be significantly altered.
