New PWD minister will have task cut out in Salcete

File photo of outgoing PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral at Navelim reviewing the sewerage work.

MARGAO

When outgoing PWD Minster Nilesh Cabral descended in Saxtti in June 2022 after assuming office of the PWD department, he made a startling revelation that sewerage works launched around 8-9 years ago were still dragging on in Margao and Navelim.

Equally damning revelation that was made by the Minister was that crores of rupees of tax payer’s money has gone into the laying of sewerage network in Margao, Navelim, besides Colva, sewerage lines are lying idle for want of sewerage.

If sources are to be believed, Cabral used to review the sewerage works at Margao, Navelim and Colva every Wednesday to take stock of the connectivity and to set time frame for the commissioning of the projects. In fact, the PWD Minister had set May 2024 for the completion of the sewerage projects in Margao and the commissioning of the Colva STP plant.

With Cabral no more heading the PWD after he resigned from office on Sunday, the new PWD Minister will have a task cut out – to ensure that the sewerage network in Margao and Navelim is commissioned before the onset of next monsoons along with the Colva STP.

“I tried my level best to expedite the work on the sewerage project at Margao and Navelim. Some of the works have been dragging on for the last couple of years. To ensure that the works are completed within a time-frame, I used to review the progress of works with officials of the Sewerage Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa Ltd (SIDCGL) and the PWD, Sewerage every Wednesday”, he recalled.

Saying that work on the North Main Trunk line at Fatorda was nearing completion, Cabral said the PWD even deployed the latest technology to connect the missing links for the early commissioning of the North Main line.

As far as the Colva STP is concerned, the outgoing PWD  Minister said the STP was ready for commissioning in all respects. He, however, hastened to add that the PWD had approached the district Collector, South to set in motion the process for procurement of land at Colva to set up two pumping stations.

During his visit to the Margao STP plant at Sirvodem in June 2022, the outgoing Minister had expressed his  concern that underground sewerage lines worth crores of rupees is lying idle not only in Margao, but across the State. In fact, Cabral had then stated that state like Goa has only around 17-18 per cent sewerage connections when the national average is pegged around 35 per cent.

In fact, the PWD Minister had said he feels ashamed to be part of a system wherein crores of rupees of taxpayer’s money has gone into the laying of the underground sewerage network across the State and the infrastructure is lying idle.