the goan I network
PANAJI
Larsen and Toubro, which is building the third bridge across the Mandovi river, has been paid Rs 420.55 crore till date, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar revealed in the Goa Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, adding that half the costs will be borne by the Centre.
Parrikar said around 87 percent of the bridge was complete and all work will be finished by December, this year. He was replying to a query tabled by former chief minister Ravi Naik during Question Hour.
Naik questioned the need to take up construction of the bridge on a national highway by digging into State funds when NHAI was in charge and especially when the finances were not good and there was money to spend on the welfare of the poor.
He said the traffic snarls on approach roads of the existing bridges could have been taken care of through proper road engineering.
Parrikar, however, shot back saying the bridge was very much needed and the massive traffic jams on the existing bridges was proof enough. “In another decade, it would have been a problem for the government to handle,” Parrikar said.
The CM told Naik to write to him on details he wanted to know about the bridge’s ongoing works. He expressed his his inability to furnish readily the details sought by Naik of the depth to which the piers had been put up -- both on land and in water.
Parrikar also told Naik that Vashi-based M/s TPF Engineering Pvt Ltd are the consultants engaged for the project.
To another supplementary, Parrikar said SN Bhobe & Associates have not been awarded any consultancy work pertaining to the bridge and therefore not paid any amount. He also told Naik that there is no communication from the Gujarat government about SN Bhobe & Associates having been black listed by it.
