the goan I network
MARGAO
After a long delay spanning around half-a-decade, decks have been finally cleared to take the long-delayed Margao Ring Road forward with the PWD razing down the 11 houses located along the alignment at Comba after shifting the families to the Housing Board.
With PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar returning home after a tour of Portugal, the government is now expected to take a call whether the affected families will be rehabilitated by constructing flats or provide the house owners plots on the acquired land at Comba admeasuring 7,000 square metres.
Salcete Mamlatdar John Fernandes, PWD Executive Engineer Agnelo Barros supervised the razing down of the 11 houses located near the Comba subway. The demolition of these 11 houses and completion of the Mungul-Pedda stretch of the Ring Road assumes significance since the project was being monitored by the High Court since last year.
PWD officials told The Goan that the affected families have been provided temporary accommodation at the Rumdamol Housing Board before the hammer fell on their houses at the Comba subway.
PWD Executive Engineer, Agnelo Barros said with the demolition of the structures, the stage is set for the lining of the ring road from Mungul to Pedda. “Work on the project should hopefully start at the earliest,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said the PWD will carry out the rehabilitation of the affected families since the land in question was acquired by the department.
Sources in the know said that a proposal was initially mooted to hand over the land to the Goa Housing Board for rehabilitation of the displaced families. Barros, however, made it clear that the PWD will rehabilitate all the affected families since the acquired land belongs to the department.
Linking of the Mungul stretch of the ring road with Comba had hit a road block for the delay in the rehabilitation of the displaced families despite the fact that the families were all in favour of the rehabilitation.
It was only after the High Court took cognizance of the delay in carrying out the rehabilitation, which had come in the way of the completion of the linking of the ring road, that the authorities began to show some urgency, which has now resulted in the demolition of structures.
