MARGAO: In a continued pursuit of their demand for the Western Bypass to be constructed on stilts, the Cana-Benaulim village panchayat is gearing up to file a writ petition in the High Court as soon as they receive the report from the appointed hydrologist.
A recent meeting was convened at the panchayat ghar, with Sarpanch Xavier Pereira and select members of the village-level committee on the Western Bypass in attendance. Although the meeting was adjourned due to a lack of quorum, a brief discussion on the bypass issue unfolded.
Previously, the panchayat had filed a Miscellaneous Civil Application before the HC in connection with an ongoing Public Interest Litigation (PIL). Subsequently, they decided to withdraw this application and initiate a fresh writ petition before the HC. A resolution empowering the panchayat to do so had been passed at a recent gram sabha meeting.
The earlier miscellaneous application had included a preliminary report from a hydrologist who had assessed the Water Resources Department’s (WRD) study, highlighting several gaps and flaws in it. Given that the WRD’s study played a crucial role in the decision to construct the Western Bypass using embankments instead of stilts, the panchayat enlisted the services of a hydrologist to conduct a comprehensive study. This new study, expected by the panchayat shortly, will be submitted to the HC as part of their writ petition.
The hydrologist’s study encompasses various elements, including a Geographic Information System (GIS) inventory of water bodies, field mapping of drainage, an inventory of low-lying houses and slums, flood modelling, a Differential Global
Positioning System (DGPS) survey, and a drone-
based topographic survey for high-quality terrain modelling.
Sarpanch Pereira emphasised that while the ongoing land filling for the bypass is beyond their control, the panchayat is making every effort to prevent the bypass from being constructed via embankments.
He also highlighted the recent flooding in low-lying areas of the neighbouring village of Seraulim, where bypass construction is in full swing. Pereira argued that the proposed use of culverts to manage water flow would not suffice, and if the bypass is built by filling up low-lying areas in Benaulim, it would lead to similar flooding.
Pereira expressed hope that the courts would provide a resolution, especially considering the State government and PWD’s refusal to alter their stance despite documented instances of flooding in the village during the recent monsoon rain.
