Panaji, Apr 14 (IANS): The Goa government has started the process of building an Ambedkar Bhavan in the state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday.

"The issue about setting up an Ambedkar Bhavan has been pending for a while. You have been giving me proposals for setting up of an Ambedkar Bhavan somewhere in Porvorim. But in my last tenure, we were able to provide land through the aegis of the Social Welfare Department," he said, while addressing a function organised on the occasion of Ambedkar's birth anniversary on Thursday.

"We will lay the foundation stone, when the project will be tendered. We will start work on it as well as lay the foundation stone this year. While constructing the Ambedkar Bhavan, our thoughts will be on youth who want to come to Panaji study and can stay there. Ambedkar Bhavan will be used for such purposes," he added.

The Bhavan will be constructed over 4,000 square metres of land originally owned by the state Housing Board Corporation in Porvorim, a suburb of the state capital.