M V Rao, the contractor for the concretization of the Miramar-Dona Paula Road, in December 2015 informed Herald that the road would be completed by January 15, 2016. He added that the work would be finished along with amenities proposed in the plan, including pavements, sitting arrangements, parking space, streetlights, landscaping, a cycle track, a walkway and a green area.
Despite the assurances, the contractor and the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has missed the seventh deadline for the completion of the much awaited project.
Though the stretch of road from Miramar to the Dona Paula jetty is partially open for traffic, the complete renovation of the scenic stretch, a project worth Rs 73 crore doesn’t have most of the amenities proposed in the plan of construction.
More than 15 days have passed since the deadline now. The contractor has now said that the remaining stretch of 1.1 km from Caranzalem to Dona Paula will be completed within 60 days after he completes the sewage and water pipeline work under the road. “The road from Caranzalem to Dona Paula jetty, measuring 1.1km will be completed within 60 days once the concerned departments give us possession after they complete their work,” Prasad Rao said.
GSIDC is a state run corporation which engaged the private contractor to finish the task at hand but it has gone past its seventh deadline. Sources at GSIDC confirm that the pending work is due to the shortage of funds in the GSIDC kitty. However, M V Rao has not accepted this as a possible reason for the delay in completing the work.
The Managing Director of GSIDC has told Herald that Rs 28 crore has been released so far to the contractor by the government body.
Currently, there is some work in progress on the affected stretch of road. Excavation, soling, water bound macadam (WBM) (Grade I, II, III), dry lean concrete (DLC), pavement quality concrete layers (PQC), etc are all being worked on. Additionally, the work of laying kerb stones, lowering of manholes, laying granite stones and laying of utilities is in progress. However, 50% of the work still remains undone.
The incomplete stretch of road starting from Miramar circle to Dona Paula jetty has not only inconvenienced locals, but also disappointed tourists who visit the jetty. The work on the road commenced in February 2014. Almost two years have passed and the GSIDC is still struggling to complete the work. The project was also halted for some time in between after a High Court order following the Public Interest Litigation claiming it will be a wasteful expenditure.
The stretch of road was also part of another controversy after it developed cracks even before it could allow traffic. Herald, in the past reported about the said cracks which came up at 15 places and measured at least an inch in breadth during an inspection. Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had personally visited the site with officials, the contractor and other consultants. He ordered a probe into the cracks on the new concrete road through the Chief Secretary of Goa.
Under the condition of anonymity, one of the contractors said that once hot mixed, the road needs to be repaired after a minimum of three years and cost to hot mix the Miramar-Dona Paula road may come to approximately Rs 3 crore for hot mixing one time. “Even if you hot mix the road 15 times, the cost won’t go above Rs 50 crore as compared to the cost of a concrete road,” the contractor asserted.
