Team Herald
PANJIM: Sticking to his “wait and watch” approach, Revenue Minister and Panjim MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate on Wednesday alleged that the works executed under the Smart City Mission in the State’s capital city are of “substandard” quality.
“I am just waiting and watching and see what happens. The Chief Minister has taken charge (to oversee the projects under Smart City)…now Sanjit Rodrigues has been appointed MD of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL). He is well versed as far as Panjim is concerned and was involved initially with Smart City and it was during his time, plans were approved. We want to ensure that people don’t suffer. I have not interfered as a consultant has been paid Rs 8 crore. I believe this consultant should have been under supervision of PWD at least. You require a local if not then close the PWD office. What is the need for PWD engineers then? Everyone is trying to wash their hands off by pointing fingers at consultants,” Monserrate said. He was interacting with media persons at the Goa Legislative Assembly Complex, Porvorim.
“Do consultants know what lies beneath? It is the PWD and the electricity department engineers who are aware from where cable and other lines are passing through. I don’t say whether the consultant for the project has failed or not. We will come to know during rains. I feel that substandard work of Smart City is going on in Panjim’s main areas. I had inspected some places and felt that the work was not up to the mark,” he added.
Monserrate opined that as the government is spending crores of rupees for consultancy services for projects under the Smart City Mission then it is their duty to deliver.
He added that the government should ensure that there is no flooding in the city and that people don’t face hardships.
“I am not a technical person. Let us wait and watch and see what will happen. I strongly feel there should be a supervising authority to monitor the ongoing works under the Smart City Mission. There should be a local person to supervise the work. One should be aware if sewage water is getting mixed with potable water. I feel the quality of the work is not up to the standard. However, if everything goes smoothly (in future), then it’s well and fine,” he added.
Monserrate said that the Chief Minister should not be blamed if Panjim experiences flooding because he is making statements based on the feedback from the technical persons.
When contacted, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that at present, work orders have been issued while the consultant is on board and the contractors are also carrying out the works.
“Various government departments are involved in executing works under the Smart City Mission. Since the ongoing works were dragging on, I had to replace the imagine Panjim Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and I appointed Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, who is experienced and knows the capital city better,” Sawant said.
“It is our job to get the work done,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, reacting to Revenue Minister Atanasio alias Babush Monserrate’s allegations of substandard works, the Opposition Congress stated that the Revenue Minister’s acceptance of smart city works is an ‘exit alarm’ for Urban Development Minister Vishwajit Rane.
This is an endorsement of the Congress slogan “mission total commission” of the BJP government, the Congress charged.
