Team Herald
PANJIM: They’ve missed the project deadline by 245 days, but who is to blame? It’s the weather, silly!
After missing multiple completion targets and landing Panjim in a civic mess that has made life a living hell for its residents, The Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) has apologised for the delay in its affidavit the High Court of Bombay at Goa – but has blamed a combination of adverse weather, incessant rains, and challenging soil and water table conditions for this.
The delay that spanned 245 days has pushed the project’s completion beyond the initial deadline of May 2024 to March 31 this year now.
According to the affidavit, the onset of the monsoon in the first week of May 2024 further compounded the difficulties faced by the project. The IPSCDL cited these weather-related challenges, along with the nature of Panjim’s sandy soil and high water table, as the key reasons for not meeting the timeline. In addition, the IPSCDL tendered an unconditional apology and requested the court to condone the 245-day delay in filing the extension request.
In April 2024, IPSCDL Managing Director and CEO Sanjit Rodrigues had submitted a report assuring the court that the roadworks would be functional by May 31, 2024, at all locations where work was being undertaken. Following this, the court ordered the submission of another compliance report by June 10, 2024.
However, in the recent affidavit, IPSCDL explained that the laying of the city’s main sewerage trunk line, installation of manholes, and the subsequent laying of concrete road surfaces could not be completed by the stipulated date due to persistent rains, the sandy soil composition of the area, and the high water table in Panjim. While work progressed in some areas with the help of continuous de-watering, the project still faced setbacks due to soil instability and the need for additional pumps to manage water flow. Emergency shoring was also deployed to stabilise excavation walls where caving in occurred.
"The water table in Panjim is high. We faced substantial challenges during the execution of road and sewerage works due to this, as excavation became not feasible with water appearing at a shallow depth of just one metre," stated the affidavit filed by IPSCDL Chief General Manager Vivek Valke.
As a result of the monsoon delays, the project resumed in the third week of November 2024, after being stalled for several months. The IPSCDL is now seeking an extension for completing the carriageway from Tadmad Temple to the culvert near the Sewerage Treatment Plant, a 150-metre stretch still pending adjudication.