PANAJI
Promised a transformation into a Smart City with a showcase of modern infrastructure, digital governance, and sustainable living, Panaji's dream vision remains stuck in limbo, with ownership wranglings and bureaucratic inertia leaving citizens to grapple with unfinished works and unmet promises.
The vision was bold: intelligent traffic systems, upgraded drainage, rejuvenated public spaces, and seamless digital services.
However, the IPSCDL -- Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited -- which was created as a special purpose vehicle to implement the projects, now finds itself burdened with operations and upkeep of some of the completed works, a role it was never mandated to handle.
Officials, though not on record, admit that this shift in its role has drained its capacity to focus on tasks at hand, slowing progress on some of the smaller projects that remain incomplete.
Ownership remains the elephant in the room even though Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had promised in the Goa legislative assembly last year that a multi-departmental authority would be put in place which will ultimately take over Smart City assets.
Sawant had listed the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), the State government departments and IPSCDL.
However, a year later with no clarity, projects are left hanging, roads are being dug up for upgrades and initial maintenance hiccups and the digital systems exist more in press releases than in practice.
For residents and visitors to the capital city, meanwhile, the wait remains painfully endless and traffic snarls continue despite promises of intelligent transport solutions.
Flooding is another perennial threat that hangs over Panaji as another monsoon knocks, despite the crores that were spent on drainage upgrades.
Public spaces meant to be revitalized remain neglected, and a section of the citizenry, which once believed Panaji would lead Goa into a new urban era are now overwhelmed by the same old frustrations amidst silence from the administration.
What makes this story fit for 'Forgotten Files' is precisely how quickly it has faded from public debate. The initial excitement around the Smart City project generated headlines, critique and hope. But with ownership disputes unresolved and IPSCDL saddled with responsibilities it was mandated to shoulder, the silence is deafening.
Who owns its Smart City assets, who maintains them, and who ensures delivery of promised services? Without clarity on this, Panaji risks being remembered not as Goa’s only Smart City, but a tale of ambition lost in bureaucracy and lack of decision-making inertia.
