Kamat says major roads across State are complete; departments digging up freshly laid roads to face action
MAPUSA/MARGAO
With the monsoon setting in and assembly elections just months away, Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Digambar Kamat on Thursday announced a tough crackdown on unauthorised road excavation, warning that any department digging up roads without prior approval would face strict action, including the registration of FIRs.
The warning comes amid the government's efforts to avoid a repeat of last year's monsoon, when damaged and dug-up roads across Goa triggered widespread public outrage and became a major political embarrassment.
Claiming that most major road works in the State have been completed, Kamat said the government was determined to protect freshly hotmixed roads from being repeatedly excavated by utility agencies.
"Almost all main roads have been hotmixed across the State. Some internal roads may have been held back due to a shortage of tar, which is beyond our reach," Kamat said.
The minister acknowledged challenges arising from disruptions in the supply of bitumen and rising costs linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but maintained that the PWD had managed to complete a substantial portion of its road infrastructure programme before the onset of the rains.
To prevent indiscriminate road cutting, Kamat said a special committee headed by the PWD Chief Engineer has been constituted to scrutinise and approve requests for road excavation in emergency situations.
Senior officials from key agencies, including the Electricity Department and BSNL, are members of the committee.
"No department will be allowed to undertake road cutting without permission. Strict action, including filing of FIRs, will be initiated against violators," Kamat warned.
The minister's assertion comes against the backdrop of criticism from within the ruling BJP itself over delays in road works.
He also said that the government has agreed to bear the difference in cost of procuring tar by the road contractors to execute road hot mixing works.
Meanwhile, the PWD Minister said that the PWD is bracing up to remove the pot holes with cold mix in the coming monsoons.
“Hot mixing of roads is ruled out during the monsoons. There are many roads which could not be hot mixed due to the shortage of tar in view of the West Asia conflict. But, the PWD department is bracing up to remove pot holes with cold mix during the monsoons”, he added
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and Deputy Speaker Joshua D'Souza had publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of road repairs and hotmixing in their constituencies.
With the Assembly elections expected within the next six to eight months, road infrastructure has emerged as a politically sensitive issue.
Legislators across party lines have been pushing for the completion of road projects, aware that road conditions often become a key electoral benchmark for voters.
