MARGAO
The cost of the Margao Western bypass may sound strange given that while the construction of the entire 11-km long bypass has cost Rs 482 crore, it has cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 235.28 crore to build the balance 2.5km stretch between Benaulim and Seraulim.
Reason: The government was literally forced to build the bypass on stilts on a 1.2 km long stretch between Seraulim, near the wholesale fish market, to the Mungul rail over bridge after the NGT constituted expert panel recommended construction of the bypass on stilt on this stretch.
The government had left out the 2.5 km balance Benaulim-Seraulim stretch of the 11-km bypass project following a sustained struggle by the villagers of Seraulim, Mungul and Benaulim demanding the construction of the balance stretch on stilts.
As the villagers continued to wage their battle in support of their demand for the bypass on stilts, the government headed by Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar had floated a separate tender at a cost of Rs 47-odd crore for the construction of balance stretch, but without factoring the demand for stilts.
After work on the balance stretch commenced, and with the government rejecting the demand for the construction of the bypass on stilts, Benaulim citizen Royla Fernandes knocked the doors of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking the Tribunal’s intervention to consider the demand for the construction of the bypass on stilts. During the hearing of the petition, the NGT Constituted a 10-member high level panel of experts headed by the Secretary, Environment to study the issue and file a status back to the court. It was at this juncture, the panel recommended the construction of the bypass on stilts along the 1.2 km stretch from Seraulim to the Mungul railway bridge on the grounds the alignment would require shifting of the river Sal stretch, besides filling up of water bodies along the 1.2 km stretch.
After the Goa government accepted the recommendation of the NGT-appointed expert, the cost of the balance 2.5 km stretch shot up from Rs 47 crore to a whopping Rs 235.28 crore, cost overrun amounting to Rs 188 crore primarily towards the construction of the 1.2 km viaducts on the Seraulim-Mungul stretch.
