That may perhaps be a valid decision as there are several projects that are in various stages of completion and these have to be prioritised. However, there has to be a balance in this decision, as simultaneously there will be other projects that need to be initiated and that cannot be set aside just because ongoing projects have not been completed.
The Chief Minister also said that there are several projects related to the health sector and school renovation works that have to be completed. The aim is to complete all these projects within the stipulated deadline, which again is a fair decision. But, flashback to eleven months ago, to May 2021 when following a meeting of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Board, Sawant who was chairman in the earlier term too, had said that it had been a routine review meeting to check on the status of projects undertaken by the corporation and that no new works were discussed. It almost appears as if not much has changed for the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation from May last year to April this year.
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Last May, the blame for the delays in completion of the projects had been laid on the pandemic induced lockdowns and slowdowns and also Cyclone Tauktae that had breezed past Goa. The corporation had been asked to expedite pending projects in the healthcare and education sector, with priority being given to complete hospital-related projects, with December as the deadline for many, including one lane of the signature Zuari bridge. Not a single lane of the bridge has been thrown open yet, though there are certain stretches of the approach road and flyovers that are already in use and that have eased travelling on the route. The bridge could take a little longer to get completed
Expediting projects is what the corporation is now focused upon. What has to be analysed is why there have been delays and how these can be avoided. Unless there is such an exercise, there will be no change in the manner in which the corporation works. We do understand that the Covid-19 pandemic did derail timelines but Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation has been known to miss completion targets even earlier when there were no extraneous circumstances involved and this has been on record. For instance, in 2008 the Assembly Ad-hoc Committee on Finance had criticised the corporation for delays in completing projects, pointing out that this was a special purpose vehicle created precisely to get works completed on time and so it had to be different from the Public Works Department which also undertook infrastructure works.
Deadline extensions for project completions are common across the country. Few governments have been able to complete a project within the stipulated time. Extensions also lead to cost escalations, which are an unplanned burden on the exchequer. It may result in delayed payments to the contractors which can then turn into an excuse to further extend the deadline. Since the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation has decided not to take up new projects until the ongoing are completed, it should in the period ahead work out a system by which it can monitor the progress of the work so that they are completed within the stipulated time period avoiding all delays. Can the corporation introduce such a system that will give results rather than delays?
