St Inez water body development faces major hurdle

 St Inez water body development faces major hurdle
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, May 19
The development of St Inez water body faces a major hurdle as it needs to be notified as a creek to get funding under central scheme.
The sub-committee led by Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday passed the resolution asking the state government to notify the water body as creek for its development. Sources from the sub-committee said that funds under Jawaharlal Nehru National Renewal Mission (JNNURM) will be sanctioned only after the water body is notified as creek.
“The union ministry had clearly said that the amount will be awarded for the development of creek, a water body and not for drainage,” sources said.
The committee had also decided to carry out site inspection of the water body to check the illegal developments, only after its notification as creek.
“Unless the state government comes out with a proper notification, we cannot go ahead with the inspection as the water body is not officially declared as creek. And hence, we cannot raise objections to the illegal developments, that have mushroomed
n“Unless the govt comes out with a  notification, we cannot go ahead with the inspection as the water body is not officially declared as creek.’’
along the bank of the creek,” sources maintained. “Once it is declared as creek, we can check the developments, whether they have come-up within ‘no development zone’,” sources added.
The beautification of St Inez creek project has been hanging fire since the time it has been taken up under JNNURM.
Meanwhile, the committee has decided to take up the beautification of the creek in three different phases, as the entire project cannot be cleared this year.
“As we don’t have enough time left to forward the entire project, the committee decided to go in phases-creek functioning, de-siltation process and beautification and protection of the creek,” sources explained.
Sources said that the committee will be soon forwarding the first phase DPR, which will include removal of all the structures which are above the height of the creek and will be also checking the stagnation process, to the union urban development ministry for the sanctioning of funds.
It seems that the development work at the first phase itself will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore.