could be further delayed as the authorities are considering a design change because the National Green Tribunal has barred the destruction of mangroves. While the delay is not surprising, the question that arises is how did the government begin the construction of this bridge without having conducted a proper Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)? Not just that, but before Goa Foundation could approach the National Green Tribunal, the government, as pointed out by the foundation to the tribunal, had destroyed 247 mangrove trees in the construction process. These are serious lapses that the government has to ensure are not repeated in the project to build a bridge over the River Zuari.
The Zuari bridge is a Rs 2700 crore project for which the technical bids will be opened next week. It involves the construction of a 4+4 lane 640-metre cable-stayed bridge and the construction is expected to be completed within three years from the date of awarding the contract. It is important to ensure that this bridge does not face any delays in construction once the project is taken up, as this link is vital to the road network in the State. This bridge has been a demand for a long period of time. The present bridge over the river at this point, connecting Agasaim with Cortalim, is not in the best of conditions. It has been closed for heavy traffic, except the State-run buses and a few inter-state buses, for a good many years and has also been a bottleneck to the smooth flow of traffic on the National Highway 17.
But expecting the construction of the new bridge to proceed without any hiccup may be expecting a little too much. Concerns have already been raised, and these are not by NGOs or individuals, but by government authorities and these need to be taken seriously.
After an inspection by its expert committee in November last, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to undertake a fresh marine environment impact assessment of the project. This EIA was to study the riverine morphology and impact of an additional parallel structure coming up alongside the existing bridges – the old Zuari bridge and the Konkan Railway bridge. The concern GCZMA raised was that the railway viaduct had been affected by sinking even long after the track had been commissioned because of the pressure on the riverbed of the existing road bridge. Though GCZMA has cleared the project under CRZ guidelines, it has also asked PWD to prepare an environment management plan and disaster management plan on priority. These are serious concerns that need to be addressed by the authorities before the bridge construction can begin.
The manner in which our government begins vital projects without undertaking systematic analysis and studies that will give accurate projections of the effects of the project is condemnable. With today’s traffic flow, the need for a new Zuari bridge cannot be overstated and so this is one project that should not see any delay in construction. The EIA as now sought by the GCZMA then becomes imperative so that the company undertaking the construction of the bridge is not met with any hurdle that could lead to a pause in the construction work. Traffic on the approach roads to the existing bridge often crawls, especially at peak hours, as the bridge, a major link between North and South Goa, cannot handle the increased flow.
In this case, the government has to listen to one of its own bodies, that has raised concerns on the bridge being constructed without a proper EIA. It cannot in this case sweep away the report by the GCZMA expert committee as being motivated, as has been done in the past when NGOs or individuals have raised concerns. It has to act on the advice of a body it has appointed.
