The government appears hell bent on rushing through huge projects such as New Panjim Bridge, Bambolim to Dona Paula four lane road with huge gutters on downhill side, concretization of Miramar-Dona Paula road at Rs 100 crore into a narrower three-lane road.
These projects are being pushed through, by bypassing PWD and awarding them to favourite contractors through GSIDC and other agencies at huge costs.
The preparations for the annual, IFFI were super-fast and unfortunately at the last moment, even as this is the 10th year that the government is organizing it. Exposition dates were fixed yet a part of the main road to old Goa was only finished two days back and the Merces-Old Goa road is dangerously aligned with steep slopes along the present road endangering the lives of all who travel on this highway.
Suddenly a new football stadium has been finalized at the Bandodkar ground next to Kala Academy without any discussion on the same at the whim and fancy of Manohar Parrikar a day before he resigned as Chief Minister, which leaves everyone wondering what was the hurry or is there an ulterior motive? Anything happening in the Corporation of the City of Panaji area has to be discussed and passed at the corporation meeting at the least after consulting those who are affected –the people of Panjim. The same applies to the Miramar-Dona Paula road reconstruction at a huge cost when the road could have been tarred for just Rs 1 crore.
Mega projects by builders are sanctioned by Government departments who are supposed to safeguard Goa’s interest, without a proper study of their impact on the villages, orchards and even forest land. This forces villagers to come forward, waste their time running from pillar to post, file RTI applications, facing hostile Government officials, to get information of the irregularities and when they are given no assistance to correct the wrong doings, they are forced to approach the courts as a last resort. The Regional Plan is still in Limbo! This is indeed a shame for the Party which got a clear mandate from the people, promised reforms but has ended up breaking each promise, even as half their term is over.
