MAPUSA
With assembly elections a couple of months away, local MLA Joshua D’Souza on Monday announced a slew of works totalling around Rs 140 crore, including the commencement of underground power cabling work and laying of the foundation stone for a new Tar Bridge in Mapusa.
D’Souza also said that Mapusa will get one of the best roads in the State as around Rs 18 crore has been sanctioned to hot-mix all the roads in the constituency.
“Covid struck within eight months after I took the reins as the MLA of Mapusa. Despite the crisis, we managed to do a lot of work in my term of around two and half years. We have completed some works and are taking up several key works all amounting to Rs 140 crore in the constituency,” D’Souza said.
The Mapusa MLA was addressing the media along with Mapusa Municipal Council, Chairperson Shubangi Vaigankar, Vice-Chairperson Chandrashekar Benkar and the ruling councillors.
D’Souza said that the electricity department has tendered work for underground power cabling in Mapusa at Rs 116 crore which will be taken up within the next 15 days.
The work has been tendered to Swastika Infra Pvt Ltd and is expected to be completed within two years.
Similarly, GSIDC will be taking up construction of the four-lane Tar Bride at a total cost of Rs 8.86 crore and is expected to be completed within eight months. The foundation stone for the bridge will be laid on December 19.
The government will also take up construction of the Saraswat school ground costing Rs 2.5 crore.
The interim bus-stand being constructed at a cost of Rs 3.31 crore will also be inaugurated on the Goa Liberation Day.
Besides, the material recovery facility (MRF) to treat dry waste has been set up at Cunchelim, Mapusa at a cost of around Rs 5.62 crore and will be inaugurated in the first week of December while work on the municipal administration building has been sanctioned at Rs 2.94 crore, the foundation stone of which will be laid next month.
The PWD will be taking up hot-mixing of several roads at a cost of Rs 15 crore while the civic body will take up similar road works costing Rs 2.5 crore.
Interestingly, while the local MLA took pride in announcing new works in Mapusa, several works which have been completed are yet to commence operations.
The sewerage project has been languishing for the last more than seven years while the beef and pork project which was inaugurated on Aug 15 with much fanfare is still not operational.
“There are few technical issues which need to be resolved on the sewerage project while the beef and pork stalls will be made operational within another few days,” D’Souza said.
He also informed that the Ravindra Bhavan project has got stuck due to legal issues over the land acquisition process.
