MARGAO
It’s been raining crores since 2022 with Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari allocating hundreds of crores of rupees for the national highway expansion project aimed at toning up the highway infrastructure and ease traffic congestion.
Cuncolkars, however, have a question or two to ask “ when will they finally get a respite from the acute traffic congestion, with traffic plying along the North-South corridor passing through the town, has been increasing by leaps and bounds with each passing year?
Notwithstanding Gadkari’s announcements of the slew of projects unveiled since 2022, the ground reality has not changed for the better. Locals fear they will have to contend with the traffic snarls in the town at least for the next 2-3 years since it would take time to acquire land and build the Cuncolim bypass and expand the Cuncolim-Navelim NH stretch as part of the four-laning project.
Indeed, attribute it to bureaucratic red tape or simply indecisiveness over the NH alignment between Chinchinim and Cuncolim, the much-publicised four-laning of the Navelim-Cuncolim stretch of the National Highway is yet to take off since Gadkari made the announcement in 2022.
That’s not all. Based on the Union Minister’s National Highway expansion plan, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in his 2023-24 budget speech had further promised to execute the Navelim-Cuncolim stretch of the Highway, with a provision for a flyover at Dandeavaddo-Chinchinim. Leave alone the work commencing on the ground, the PWD, NH has not even tendered the works till date, indicating that the proposed four-laning of the Navelim-Cuncolim stretch will take some time to take off.
The Union Minister’s recent announcement, allocating Rs 310.92 crore for the land acquisition to construct the Cuncolim bypass from Uskini-Arik to Benurdem in Balli village indicates that the Centre has shelved the alignment to build the national highway along the Konkan railway route.
Many a question, however, remain unanswered. One, how much time will the National Highway take to cap the land acquisition proceedings to acquire the land for the Cuncolim bypass from Uskini-Arik to Balli, besides the time that will be required to put in the massive road infrastructure in place along the 10-km Cuncolim bypass.
Officials in the know pointed out that the ground reality has not changed for the better since Gadkari’s statement on the four-laning of the Navelim-Cuncolim stretch simply because of logistics. Consider this. The Union Minister went to the town with the ambitious project to expand the NH66 between Cuncolim and Navelim in 2022. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made a similar announcement in his 2023-24 budget speech, but the process for acquisition of the balance land admeasuring 8,846 sq mtrs has been set in motion only in January 2024.
Officials pointed out that the Navelim-Cuncolim four-laning project and the Cuncolim bypass projects are part of the measures aimed at improving highway infrastructure for highway traffic plying along the North-South corridor, from Kanyakumari to Gujarat and beyond.
Agitation threat if govt fails to build NH on stilts along Panzorconne stretch
MARGAO: The law and order threat led out by Leader of Opposition, Yuri Alemao if the government fails to build the highway on stilts indicates that the tricky issues plaguing the National alignment passing through Cuncolim are far from over.
In fact, Yuri’s warning is a grim reminder that the National Highway authority and the Goa government have failed to resolve the highway alignment along the one-km stretch between Chinchinim and Cuncolim.
The opposition, who represents Cuncolim constituency in the Goa Legislative Assembly, pointed out that Goa government had conceded the demand to build the National Highway on stilts along the Panzorconne stretch right to the Uskini-Arik culvert. He, however, says that an attempt is being made by the Union Surface Transport Minister to renegade on the promise to build the one-km stretch on stilts.
“The proposal on stilts was cleared by the Goa government when Nilesh Cabral was the PWD Minister. Now, suddenly someone in the Union Surface Transport Ministry has expressed reservations over the stilts proposal on the issue of cost. We have made it clear to the Chief Minister to stick to the stilt proposal or else the people of Cuncolim will have no option than to hit the streets,” Yuri warned.
Sources told The Goan that the Opposition leader and then PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral had agreed on a proposal to take the NH on stilts along the Panzorconne stretch right up to Uskini-Arik.
