Team Herald
PANJIM: Town & Country Planning (TCP) Department has formed a technical expert committee to ensure that the stability of the Reis Magos fort is not affected during the process of creating a passenger ropeway project between Panjim and Reis Magos village, close to the picturesque fort.
The three-member Conservation Committee comprising technical experts will meet the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) appointed project consultant to study the plan.
TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai said the department has no objection to the project and steps are being taken to ensure that the sanctity of the fort is maintained and its stability is not affected.
“In principle we want the ropeway because it brings people to the fort. It is a good tourism project. The question about the location of the tower and the project’s proximity to the fort, remains and is being debated with all concerned,” the minister told Herald.
The ropeway project, covering a distance of 1240 metres over River Mandovi, could also see the local authorities holding talks with an Austrian agency with which GTDC has tied up to carry out the work.
GTDC in its first meeting with TCP’s conservation committee had made a presentation and addressed initial apprehensions surrounding the project.
The project is in limbo for over a year after the government floated an e-tender inviting applications from across the world. According to the proposal, the completion of the Rs 157-odd crore project will take 18 months.
GTDC insists that the ropeway is a green project ensuring no damage would be done to the environment.
