PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday told the Goa Legislative Assembly that the government has commissioned the IIT-Madras to conduct a study and submit its report over the perennial problem of the Atal Setu surface soling which is peeling off.
Sawant who was replying to the calling attention motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and others over the poor condition of roads due to the ongoing highway expansion and construction of the new Zuari bridge, admitted that the consultant appointed for the Atal Setu bridge was not in a position to rectify it and therefore the government has now commissioned the IIT-Madras for the job.
Sawant said the big-ticket highway and other projects which are currently in progress are bound to pose some problems for motorists while the works is being carried out as it was not possible to provide service roads and diversions at all places due to paucity of land.
Sawant said when these projects were planned and approved back in 2014, the Goa stretch of the Highway was permitted with acquisition of land accounting for 30-meters width instead of 60 meters in a bid to save over 8,000 houses along the 136-kilometer route from Patradevi to Pollem. As such, providing service roads and diversions at various places where bottlenecks exists while the work is in progress is not possible now.
None-the-less, Sawant said he has directed the Principal Chief Engineer (PWD) to ensure that the ongoing work is monitored personally by engineers of the department and wherever possible, remedial measures are taken.
Earlier, the LoP and other MLAs, including Luizinho Faleiro, Rohan Khaunte, Sudin Dhavalikar and Jayesh Salgaonkar accused the contractors of high-handedness and raised problems faced by motorists across the 136-kilometer route.
Khaunte said, the contractors should be held accountable for acts like dumping of debris along the road itself and also sub-standard work.
The LoP and Faleiro pointed out that at various points the condition of the road is precarious and motorists were at risk for which the government should step in and take responsibility.
Both the LoP and Faleiro said, proper signages indicating work in progress, danger signs and diversions should be erected at the various black spots on an urgent basis.
