Goa Board to shift to new Rs 27 crore premises in June

Panaji: The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, which has for long been dealing with issues of leakages and other infrastructural defects at its present premises at Porvorim, is now expected to shift to its new building in June. The new construction, being carried out through the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) at a cost of over Rs 27 crore, is likely to be completed this month.
The new building has been constructed on vacant land available within the Goa Board’s existing property at Porvorim.
The present Goa Board building is barely 30 years old but suffers from leakage during the monsoon, which necessitated the construction of the new structure. Besides structural defects, the infrastructure was also proving grossly inadequate to carry out the state board’s examination-related confidential work.
Construction of the new premises began in February 2019. The building will have a separate section to carry out confidential work related to Class X and XII public exams.
The structure has been built on an 8,000sqm plot with a built-up area of over 10,000sqm with three floors and an additional one on stilts. It will house 10 meeting rooms, an executive meeting room for 40 people, and a conference room with a seating capacity of 100 people.
The building will also have a parking area for 48 two-wheelers and 78 four-wheelers.
“It consists of four custody rooms, three strong rooms, two store rooms, two labs for the IT section, and a library with a capacity of 50 people. It also has a recreation room, a tiffin room for staff, and a canteen and dining area with an attached kitchen. The proposed building also has two security, operation, and maintenance rooms,” the GSIDC document states.
Though the Goa Board is expected to shift to the new premises this June, there are no plans as of now to demolish the old building, and it is likely to be temporarily utilised by another government department. Sources said that the directorate of higher education could shift to the Goa Board’s old building until the directorate’s new building, which is also being constructed at Porvorim, is ready.