PANAJI
Nearly a decade after Panaji's quest to become a smart city began in 2015-16, Goa's capital is still a distance away from turning smart with several of the projects under the 'Smart City Mission' yet to achieve 100% completion.
Officially, the status of works is at 91% completion, with only 31 of the 35 projects taken up completed, including the smart classrooms, solid waste management initiative and the 'Promenade' along the Mandovi river, according to Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the State government to implement the 'smart city' work.
Apart from projects remaining incomplete, another hurdle faced by the capital to truly function as a 'smart city' particularly in terms of flow of traffic along the 'smart roads' is the general indiscipline among vehicle users particularly related to parking.
"Despite parking alleys being provided on sidings, vehicle users continue to park on the roads effectively negating the benefits of constructing the smart roads," a senior IPSCDL official told The Goan.
The official, who did not wish to be identified since he is not authorised to speak to the media, however admitted that non-completion of the smart 'bus-stop' shelters is another factor which has hampered traffic flow in the city.
The intra-city e-bus service being operated on behalf of the Smart City Mission by the State-owned Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) has significantly contributed to improving the public transport system.
However, the bus-stops not operating has negatively impacted the efficiency of the service, the official admitted.
The project to build 'smart bus-stops' to serve the EV bus services in the city has been stalled after objections were raised over the design by Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate who is the local MLA.
At several points the bus stops are only partially built, rendering them unusable and forcing passengers to wait for buses on the roads..
Meanwhile, three projects collectively worth Rs 27 crore are currently in execution stage -- Development of the Patto area, a water storage tank at Altinho, and the pedestrian walkway along the St Inez creek.
Another project which is under construction is the Rs 7.73 crore worth satellite community market at Ribandar. The project was delayed because the NGPDA issued a 'stop work' because the contractor was deviating from the approved plan.
