Team Herald
PANJIM: The Smart City work that has turned the capital city into a motorists’ nightmare and led to multiple accidents, and also deaths, has got a new finishing date on the horizon – yet again. The Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) authorities have (smartly) assured the Bombay High Court at Goa that all dug-up roads will be made motorable by January 20 and all projects will finally wrap up by May 2025.
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That deadline is a year late, as the High Court had been assured earlier that all work would finish by May 21, 2024.
Over this year of missed deadlines, petitioners in court have repeatedly pointed out how safety issues had been overlooked again and again during the construction process. They did so on Wednesday as well, when two PILs in the matter came up in court.
During the hearing of the PILs, Advocate General Devidas Pangam informed the court that the stretch from the Bosco junction to Caculo Island would be functional for traffic within four days, while work on footpaths, pavers, and landscaping would be finished by January 20. Similar deadlines have been promised for two more stretches – from St Inez junction to Caculo Island and from Geeta Bakery leading to the DB Road intersection near Panjim Police Station. The stretch from Caculo Mall to the Sewage Treatment Plant in Tonca will be completed by March 31, with all Smart City projects expected to be fully finished by May 2025.
Representing the petitioners, advocate Shivan Desai pointed out that these stretches were among the busiest in Panjim, as they were near markets, government offices and schools. He further argued that the ongoing work was not following the court’s directions and that safety precautions had been neglected.
Desai highlighted the absence of signage, insufficient communication on official websites, and a lack of traffic police to manage vehicles and pedestrians on partially open roads, apart from the dust pollution caused which was a result of the lack of monitoring by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).
In response, the division bench, comprising Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita P Mehta, directed the State government and GSPCB to file affidavits detailing measures taken to regulate traffic and control dust pollution. The court also called for public notification about the ongoing works. The matter will be heard again on January 13.
