PANJIM: The Smart City Mission works in Panjim has been constantly missing its deadlines ever since the project started. Given the High Court’s refusal to extend the deadline for completing the ongoing Smart City projects, people have questioned whether the new deadline of May 31, 2024 is practical. Panjimites have also questioned why authorities give deadlines when they are not maintainable?
O Heraldo spoke to Smart City dwellers to know what they feel about the ongoing works after the inspection by the High Court Judges on Monday.
Former Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) councillor Patricia Pinto slammed the mess created by the Smart City works across the capital city.
Patricia said, “What works have been undertaken and is there any supervision and proper accountability? What has happened under the ground? You may close by the deadline and hot-mix or tar these roads, but what has happened underneath is the biggest problem. Because we have seen the damage when the works were going on, especially drains. What work has been done and whether it has been done properly is the issue. You talk about drainages or the sewerage lines.”
”I remember somewhere near Govinda Building, instead of the old drains, the workers dismantled them across the city and in some places they replaced them with pipes. When we asked how you are going to clean them, they replied that they will invest in procuring the machines,” Patricia said.
Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) vice president Jack Sukhija, ”Normal trend for the monsoon to set in is the first week of June. They have given the deadline. Hopefully they should work backward to complete the work as soon as possible. It does not look that everything will be fast tracked. The deadline has been given with a hope that it may be pushed to another deadline. I do not know how many projects have been taken and what is expected to be completed. I think sewage infrastructure and drain infrastructure is being created. Whatever they have dug up, they should at least try to close them. If sprinkling water is remedy to dust pollution then it should continue.”
Sandeep Heble of Panjim said, “Missing deadlines is one thing but what is most important is ensuring quality works. Roads are still uneven and instead of capital city becoming better, it had gone to worse. Panjim is not on par with other cities across the world. The situation is completely different and agencies executing the works should see that there is quality control.”
Mahesh Mahambre, residing at Caranzalem said, “May 31 deadline by the government is vague. It is impossible that works will be completed before onset of monsoon.”
