PANAJI
With heavy monsoon rains damaging roads, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday raised concerns about the poor condition of roads across Goa and blamed “rampant corruption” in the Public Works Department (PWD) for the situation.
AAP State president Amit Palekar led a team to meet PWD principal chief engineer Uttam Parsekar and highlighted how bad the roads had become, stressing that corruption was affecting the improvement of basic infrastructure.
Palekar pointed out that pothole-filled roads are putting commuters, especially two-wheeler riders, at serious risk.
He also raised concerns about unscientific and dangerous speed breakers without proper signs, incomplete roads and bridges, and a lack of transparency and accountability in the PWD.
Palekar highlighted cases of corruption and mismanagement, including works worth Rs 155 crore being given without e-tendering and projects worth Rs 20 crore awarded through direct nomination.
He mentioned a specific case of a Rs 15 crore pothole removal contract in Calangute, Mapusa and Thivim, given to a single contractor allegedly linked to politicians, while AAP claimed the actual value of the work was only around Rs 59 lakh.
Palekar also alleged that monsoon preparation work was “deliberately delayed” and demanded that contractors responsible for substandard or incomplete work be blacklisted.
He further demanded a full audit and public disclosure of the Rs 155 crore worth of nomination works and an investigation into all irregularities, especially the Calangute-Mapusa-Thivim pothole repair contract worth Rs 15 crore.
