MAPUSA
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s fresh push to move ahead with the Ponda-Bhoma and Bhoma-Old Goa highway stretches has given Goa’s stalled road network a clear timeline, but has done little to settle the most contentious issue on the ground – what happens to Bhoma village.
The Centre’s decision to proceed with the 10-km Ponda-Bhoma stretch, with work scheduled to begin in October 2026, effectively signals that the long-pending highway project is moving beyond the planning stage. But for Bhoma residents, the announcement could deepen rather than resolve the dispute unless their demand for a bypass is addressed before construction begins. Residents have consistently opposed widening the existing highway or building a flyover through the village, arguing that the alignment would affect the settlement and its surroundings. Their alternative is a bypass that would take through traffic away from Bhoma altogether. Gadkari’s remarks, however, indicate that the Centre continues to view the existing corridor as the basis for the project. Referring to an earlier meeting with a local delegation, he said the proposed 76-metre-span bowstring bridge was conceived specifically to protect the Bhoma temple and its lake.
The minister also announced Rs 30 lakh for beautification of the temple lake – a gesture that may address concerns about the heritage and religious site, but does not answer the larger question of whether the highway itself should pass through the village.
That is the gap in the latest announcement. The seven-km Bhoma-Old Goa stretch, estimated at Rs 1,007.21 crore and involving a flyover, road overbridge and major bridge, is already at the tendering stage. Gadkari said work would begin within two months of the required clearances. The agency for the Rs 557-crore Ponda-Bhoma stretch has also been finalised.
The bigger picture is that the Centre is seeking to push Goa’s highway expansion into its next phase. Road projects worth Rs 16,763 crore have been undertaken in the State over the past 12 years, with Rs 9,155 crore completed and Rs 7,608 crore still under execution.
Another Rs 6,000 crore is now lined up for two major projects – the 34-km Anmod Ghat-Mollem section of NH-748, estimated at Rs 4,200 crore, and the eight-km Borim bridge across the Zuari on NH-566, costing around Rs 1,900 crore.
Gadkari’s intervention also exposed a less visible hurdle to this road-building push: clearances. Six road projects have yet to begin because of pending tree-cutting permissions, prompting him to seek a joint review between the Goa government and the Union road transport ministry.
He has also asked the State to tackle roadside encroachments and improve highway amenities, including facilities for food, local handicrafts and other services.
