PANAJI
A war of words has erupted after authorities voiced concern over encroachments in the pavement and setback areas hampered progress of work on the smart roads in the St Inez-Tambdi Mati area with Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) mayor, Rohit Monserrate suggesting these are ‘excuses’ being trumped up he says for the slow progress of work.
In caustic remarks, Monserrate said the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) authorities should not point fingers at other agencies if the work completion deadlines are not met.
The State government has set a deadline of May 31 to complete all the major ‘smart city’ work taken up in the capital which has thrown life in the city in disarray and is the cause of chaotic intra-city traffic on a daily basis.
“IPSCDL is doing all the work in the city. They are duty bound to complete everything,” Monserrate said, adding that it is not right for the body to take credit when sections of the smarty city work is completed and things go well and push blame on others when they go wrong.
Monserrate’s comments come on a day when IPSCDL managing director and CEO, Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, who is personally monitoring the ongoing work, had said that encroachments on roadside pavements in the city were a hindrance and affecting the pace of work.
“Our goal is to offer level pavements for everyone. We are currently leveling the pavements,” Rodrigues had said while speaking to the media on Thursday.
Earlier this week, workers who were working on a pavement in the St Inez-Tambdi Mati area were obstructed by the locals after one of the businessmen there had claimed that they had encroached onto his property. The police had to be called in to restore order and workers continued doing the work late into the night.
Part of the tension was due to the fact that while working on the smart city project there, workers had ruptured a power cable and the area had to go without electricity for over two hours.
Also, apart from work being hampered because of encroachments, the contractors and workers allotted the finishing work of the pavements have faced hardship to execute the work as two culverts are yet to be completed on the stretch between the Apteshwar Ganesh temple and St Inez cemetery.
It is the stretch of road between Madhuban complex and the St Inez cemetery for which the IPSCDL CEO had set a January 31 deadline for completion “in all respects”.
Meanwhile, Monserate Jr has said that the IPSCDL can act on all unlawful structures in the pavement areas.
“The Corporation is powerless to act. If something is determined to be lawful, nobody can touch it. But if it is determined to be unlawful the IPSCDL must act,” the mayor said.
