PANJIM: The Bombay High Court at Goa Thursday directed the Government to stop further digging on the Miramar-Dona Paula road. A division Bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice A S Gadkari gave these directions during a hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Aires Rodrigues alleging squandering of public funds by the government on the concretization of Miramar-Dona Paula Road. The next hearing is on September 17.
The petitioner argued that the Miramar-Dona Paula road which was hot-mixed in January this year at a the cost of Rs 1.63 crore was soon dug up by Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation in less than a month, to concretize it.
Arguing that the Corporation of City of Panaji was not consulted on the issue, he argued that the digging up of a freshly hot-mixed road was a gross misuse of power and a daylight robbery of public funds.
The issue of the road which is now four lane and being reduced to three lane on the advice of the Chief Minister who had opined that there was not much traffic on that road too was brought up.
The petition had stated that the sewage line which has been laid at such an enormous cost at the center of the road would be now covered up with a concrete road and incase of any damage or repair it will require fresh digging up. The failed experiment of concretizing a portion of a road at Cuncolim too was put on record.
Stating that public funds are to be used in public interest, Adv Rodrigues submitted that Government cannot squander public funds or award contracts by way of largesse to the detriment of public interest. He also argued that the illegal concretization was an unnecessary burden on the State exchequer and that the expenditure incurred should be recovered from the officers concerned.
