MAPUSA
Blame it on the State’s precarious financial condition or just plain lack of interest, work on some developmental projects in Bardez has either slowed down or come to a standstill.
Among the incomplete works there are some key projects like the state of the art bus-stand in Mapusa and the Arpora-Baga bridge, which are crucial public oriented projects.
Work on the health department’s project of converting the old heritage Asilo building into a Health Training Institute in Mapusa has also taken excruciatingly long time to complete.
The Chapora Riverfront Development Project in Siolim was stayed by the National Green Tribunal after it was found that the Water Resources Department had failed to get necessary approvals.
A top official of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) informed that in most cases, the projects were in advanced state of completion and were expected to be completed soon.
New bus-stand work stalled in Mapusa
The government gave a go-ahead to the state-of-the-art bus-stand in Mapusa in October 2014 and work on the project began in February 2015.
To be constructed on an area of around 20,000 sqmts of land, the bus-stand was estimated to cost around Rs 15 crore. The GSIDC was entrusted with the tast of constructing the bus-stand.
The project which was supposed to be completed in three phases has been stuck after only completing the first phase of filling up the low-lying land.
In phase 2, a new 25-metre-wide road was supposed to be constructed from the new bus-stand to connect the NH-17 near Bastora junction.
The actual construction of the new bus-stand and converting the existing KTC bus-stand into a parking lot was supposed to be taken up in phase 3.
The new state-of-the-art bus stand has been designed on the lines of international bus stands having a multi-use facility and considered to be a unique project in India. For the moment the land is
being used to park the inter-state buses.
Work on Arpora-Baga bridge slows down
Work on the new Arpora-Baga bridge at Tambudki in Arpora has been progressing at a snail’s pace. Work started on June 11, 2016 and the bridge was expected to be ready in mid-September. But work on the bridge had to be halted because of heavy monsoon.
After monsoon, the bridge was slated to be completed by November-end last year, which was again pushed forward and was expected to be ready by January this year.
With the work progressing at a slow pace it is expected to be delayed even further.
The foundation stone for the bridge was laid by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar on June 18, 2014. It is being built by Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) at a cost of Rs 4.75 cr.
The old bridge in the area was very narrow as only one car could pass over it at a time. The bridge provides a crucial link for people travelling to Baga and Anjuna in the coastal belt.
Long way to go for Health Training Institute in Mapusa
The health department’s project to set up a Health Training Institute in Mapusa continues to be delayed as the renovation work of the old Asilo heritage building, which will house the institute is
taking considerable time to complete.
The project which was first supposed to be completed in December 2015 continues to miss completion deadlines one after the other.
The renovation work of the old heritage Asilo building at Mapusa was assigned to GSIDC and work on the project had begun in February 2014.
The work was estimated to cost Rs 6.85 crore but finally awarded for Rs 8.39 crore and was expected to be completed by December 31, 2015.
So far, almost 90 percent of the renovation work has been completed.
Sources disclosed that one of the reasons for the project to be delayed was due to non-payment of contractor’s bills. Another cause of delay was that being an old heritage building, much care had to be taken while renovating.
Siolim’s riverfront project halted by NGT
Water Resource Department’s Chapora Riverfront Development Project had to be halted mid-way, after the National Green Tribunal stayed the project for failure to comply with environmental approvals.
The water resources department had tendered the project at a cost of Rs 10.87 crore and the work order was issued on December 23, 2015. The actual work had started in April 2016.
The government was firm that it was a unique beautification project meant to attract tourists, while locals feared that the purpose of the project was to build a jetty.
