THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Less than a fortnight after taking charge, the new mayor of Panjim Uday Madkaikar has cracked the whip on the central government's protege Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL). The mayor called for a meeting with IPSCDL officials on Monday to find out where exactly they had dug the roads in Panjim for their projects.
However, mayor Madkaikar was left dissatisfied with Monday's meeting after IPSCDL general manger Salim Velji who was representing IPSCDL at the meeting allegedly did not produce any documentation.
"They refused to tell me where their projects are going on," Madkaikar told The Goan, talking about IPSCDL.
"Besides, I sent them a letter last week, explaining the subject to them. I had told them in advance that they need to provide us with the exact locations of their works. They gave me a written reply without giving any details of their works," alleged the mayor.
The mayor also informed The Goan that Velji said that the CEO of IPSCDL Swayandipta Pal Chaudhuri would have to be consulted before any information could be given to the mayor.
"Our municipal engineer has said that it is they who are digging the roads, but they denied that they were undertaking any works in the city that involved the digging of roads," said Madkaikar.
Since Monday's meeting bore no fruit, the mayor has called for another meeting with all other agencies involved with road digging on Thursday.
CCP officials intend to carry out a site visit to the areas that are being dug. Agencies expected to be present are Jio, L&T, BSNL and the PWD.
When contacted, Velji told The Goan that he was not authorised to speak to the media as he was not the CEO.
When contacted, CEO Chaudhuri did not wish to comment, instead choosing to give The Goan the excuse that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in force.
This is the second time in a short space of time that IPSCDL has come under the scanner due to the digging of roads in the capital city.
In February, the then North Goa Collector Levinson Martins had issued a stop work order to IPSCDL writing to them that "people were suffering" and that it had come to the collector's knowledge that this digging of roads was illegal.
Even at that time, Smart City officials had refused to comment, choosing instead to settle the matter with Martins privately.
