The monsoons are upon us and much to the chagrin of several ruling MLAs, roads in their respective constituencies have been left without hotmixing despite having been recently dug up either for laying underground electricity cables, or for sewerage lines or other reasons. At least two MLAs -- Mapusa MLA Joshua de Souza and Porvorim MLA and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte have vocally voiced their annoyance that, despite works being cleared well in advance they are yet to be executed. Further, they have complained that only certain constituencies have been neglected while in others the works have been executed on time. If one were to traverse Mapusa and Porvorim it is not hard to see why they have been speaking up.
At the time Goa got a new full-time PWD Minister we were promised that all roads would be hotmixed and the State would be made pot-hole free prior to the monsoons. Instead, now that the monsoons are upon us, it effectively means that it will be at least another six to eight months before the roads will be hotmixed, leaving the commuters and road users not forgetting pedestrians at the mercy of the unrepaired roads that will only get progressively worse hereon. None of this was especially unforeseen. While the Chief Minister at a press conference last week said that quick fixes will be applied along roads where hotmixing couldn’t be completed on account of a shortage of asphalt precipitated by the ongoing war in the Middle East, it’s an excuse that doesn’t quite cut it.
Many of the roads that are crumbling today were dug up and left in a dilapidated state more than a year ago and ideally speaking should have been resurfaced no sooner the digging was completed. Instead, the files were kept pending in various departments for months on end and by the time they were cleared, the war had begun and the state began running short of asphalt or that the prices had gone up significantly meaning that the contractors couldn’t execute the work at previously quoted rates. The reality is that the war in the Middle East isn’t the cause of the government’s failure to execute hotmixing in time. It only exposed what is an annual affair of late clearances and even later execution meaning that each year, the PWD and its contractors are rushing through hotmixing work in the months of April and May.
The war is just a convenient excuse that the government can avail of this time round, when in reality the real causes are political favouritism, red-tapism, corruption and bureaucracy that cause endless delays leaving Goa’s roads in a perennial state of disrepair. In the rare cases they are indeed completed on time, it is either because the local MLA has been constantly following up or the road falls in the PWD minister’s constituency. It is not known when the pending works will be completed. But with the Monsoons expected to continue at least until October, it could take until December before the machines roll out again, by which time, general assembly elections and its accompanying code of conduct will be upon us.
It is no surprise then that the complaints are getting louder and louder and will not cease until the long pending issues are resolved. More than that, however, the state needs a system that ensures that hotmixing isn’t a last minute task taken up only once the monsoons reach our doorstep. There is enough time between June and October to complete bureaucratic back and forth in order that the work can begin in November. The real reason Goa’s roads are not hotmixed in time is the bureaucracy. The war is just an excuse.
