PANJIM: Less than 24 hours since Herald reported on the “Rs 136 crore stink to hit Porvorim, as new STP project smells of mega land scam”, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar summoned and informed the Managing Director of the Sewerage Corporation of Goa, Arvind Patil that he was going to reject the proposal of a Sewage Treatment Plant in the heart of Porvorim.
Parsekar, reacting to Herald’s front page story remarked, “I was shocked to see the report. This is not the way to propose a sewage treatment plant.” The CM said this in the presence of other senior officials, including those of his secretariat and a group of prominent and worried residents of Porvorim, including retired senior officials of the armed forces. They had called on the CM after reading the report.
Herald in its edition of Thursday, June 16, had reported how PWD was seeking a transfer of over 34,000 square meters of land acquired by Kadamba Transport Corporation, in 1984 for the purpose of a service depot. The land acquired at Rs 10 per square meter is now valued at Rs 40000 per square meter. While the KTC has turned down the proposal for land transfer, it is learnt that pressure was indeed mounting to clear this proposal.
On the other hand, PWD minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar, who is also the Chairman of the Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Limited, had a totally different take on the controversy saying that the proposed site of the STP was actually in Guirim, on the Mapusa-Pernem highway, a little ahead of the Green Park hotel.
Speaking to Herald he said, “That land belongs to the PWD. It is my baby. We will have a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant there.” When pointed out that his own Managing Director Arvind Patil had told Herald that a pipeline was proposed from the project site at Porvorim, next to the KTC bus depot, to the creek to the east, to dump the treated sewage, as per the plan, Dhavalikar said, “I do not know what he is saying. We have said no to giving the KTC land. However, there is a sewage problem in Porvorim. We will lay a pipeline along the highway and take it to Guirim, the site of the proposed STP so that the new STP can be utilized well. We will float tenders for the same soon.”
It is significant that Dhavalikar was not called for the meeting with the CM where the MD of his own corporation was called. The meeting at the CM’s residence was taking place when Dhavalikar was present at his official residence, right next to the CM’s official residence, speaking to Herald.
It is very important and interesting to note that Dhavalikar, also happens to be the Transport Minister and KTC functions under the supervision of his department. At the same time he, as head of the PWD and the Chairman of the Sewerage Corporation, is also in charge of the STP project. He was categorical that the project would not be near the KTC depot area of Porvorim but in Guirim and yet “would be called the Porvorim project”.
It is clear that different arms of the government are speaking in different voices and that includes contrary voices on facts emerging from within the same department i.e. PWD/Sewerage Corporation. However, with the Chief Minister ruling out the STP in the Porvorim residential area, locals can literally breathe a sigh of relief.
Patil, when contacted confirmed the Chief Minister’s decision to Herald. “Yes the Chief Minister has asked us to look for an alternative area and will not clear the project here,” he said.
His own minister Dhavalikar, at the same time told Herald that the alternative site is in Guirim. Whatever the confusion may be, the controversial STP, in the heart of Porvorim, on land which is valued at Rs 136 crore, will not be given to a private player.
