PONDA: The Foundation stone laid in 2011, the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) Golden Jubilee Project comprising shops, offices, movie theatre and a hall amongst other facilities, is moving at a snail’s pace even after 13 years. The work on the project located in the heart of Ponda town, is pending due to various reasons, including delay by its contractor.
The signature project was sanctioned in 2011 during the Congress regime to commemorate the golden jubilee year of Goa’s Liberation. Ponda MLA and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, who was the then Home Minister, had laid the foundation stone for the project on December 19, 2011, and money sanctioned for the project was Rs 2 crore.
But after a few years, the contractor stopped work. The PMC then prepared another estimate of the project and demanded an additional fund for completion of pending work. Again the pending work began in 2017-18, but with no progress.
Later, the contractor was terminated due to a long delay and failure to complete work.
When contacted, PMC Chairperson Anand Naik said that the Council has recently passed a resolution to complete the project at the earliest.
Naik said, “The project work is in the final stages, with civil and other works pending.”
“The new tender worth Rs 3.31 cr has been floated recently. The contractor whom the tender has been awarded, has assured to begin work by August-end and will complete all pending works within next six months. By February 2025, the project will be ready,” Naik said.
