Margao’s traffic woes might soon be a thing of the past if the 14 year old Western Bypass project comes to the fore. When the project becomes a reality, half of the vehicular traffic entering Margao everyday will be halved and Margao residents can breathe a sigh of relief.
The project that started in 2001 has been kept on the backburner by successive governments but has been put on a fast track after notices were issued to the authorities concerned by the Bombay High Court bench in Goa.
Taking cognizance of media reports, the High Court has asked the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the Margao Municipal Council (MMC), the Goa PWD to reply by July 11, Thursday, and explain why the project has been pending for 14 years.
The High Court observed that the project is needed in the larger public interest and that it is unfortunate that the project could not be completed even after 13 years since it was approved. The Court has also appointed an amicus curiae, a senior advocate to assist the probe into the delay on the government’s part in awarding the tender to construct the bypass project for which land had already been acquired. The next course of action will be taken after the respondents file their replies on the deadline day.
Margao activist Savio Dias said this would be a boost to Margao that is currently suffering from acute traffic congestion and added that the project would see vehicles going from the Chinchinim-Cuncolim Junction to Verna via Benaulim- Mungul.
Traffic police officials have stated that approximately 82,787 vehicles enter the city from all directions out of which 10 per cent are considered to be inter-state private vehicles like vehicles from Maharashtra moving towards Karwar or Belgaum and vice-versa.
The state government had acquired nearly 5 lakh sqm of land, mostly cultivable from 580 farmers and landlords, invoking the urgency clause (section 4) of the Land Acquisition Act 1984, but even after 14 years, the government has done nothing to construct a bypass.
The first inspection was carried out on October 8, 2003 and it was found that a lot of fruit bearing trees had to be cut for this much desired project. Rs 19,05,061 was paid to landowners for the trees which were proposed to be felled, and Rs 16,96,954 was paid for their structures.
The acquisition costs was Rs 22,80,600 in Benaulim for 1,16,751 square meters, Rs 21, 33,215 in Nuvem for 1,11813 square meters, Rs 10,05, 268 in Navelim for 91,495 square meters , Rs 7,03,331 in Telaulim for 51,912 square meters, Rs 6,71,040 in Margao for 39,585 square meters and Rs 3,60, 646 in Seraulim for 37,113 square meters respectively.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat who was the Urban Development Minister when the project was approved recalled how the project had taken a lot of time but the file was eventually cleared after incorporating some suggestions and realignments to the western bypass. The former chief minister added that it was important as the national highway passing through the heart of Margao causes a lot of inconvenience to inter-state vehicles. Kamat added that he had pursued the matter with the current state government and that PWD Minister Ramkrishna Dhavlikar had informed him that the work on tendering to construct a bypass road will commence soon.
It remains to be seen if the government does wake up from its slumber and finally acts on the same given that from the time of tendering to the action completion of the project will take another few years at least.
