MARGAO
The CM’s office is also believed to have called a delegation of affected parties from Navelim for discussion on the project. Sources in the know said while the Union officials are in haste to complete the project without stilts, taking into account the huge cost involved in the project, all eyes are focused on Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar whether he would agree to the demand for the bypass on stilts.
The issue over the rehabilitation of a couple of displaced people is also likely to figure at the discussions with the central officials.
An NH-17 official in the know told The Goan that while the total cost of the project is around Rs 202 crore, it would cost the central government nothing less than Rs 150 crore for a kilometer of the bypass on stilts. “The Chief Minister is aware of the demand raised by the villages of Telaulim, Navelim and Benaulim. Let us wait and see to what extent the Chief Minister can go to accommodate the demand raised by the villagers considering the huge cost of the project on stilts”, the official said.
What’s significant to note is that while work on the four-km stretch of the bypass in Nuvem has been progressing satisfactorily after initial objections, work is yet to commence on the 3.6 km Benaulim stretch till date. Work along 3.20 km long Telaulim-Navelim stretch had started some months ago, the work is now disrupted with villagers demanding construction of the bypass on stilts along the stretch passing through the Salpem lake.
There’s almost political unanimity amongst politicians from Navelim village that the bypass ought to be built on stilts along the Salpem lake to avoid an ecology disaster in the future.
As far as the 3.6 km Benaulim stretch is concerned, work has failed to take off from day one with locals demanding raising of the entire portion of the bypass on stilts fearing flooding of the Khareband-Tolleaband area during monsoons.
Incidentally, while the Salpem lake comes within the alignment of the western bypass in Navelim village, the bypass cuts through the Tolleaband lake in Benaulim with no provision made for the construction of the bridge on stilts.
