the goan I network
MARGAO
Madgavkars and Fatordekars will have to wait for some more time for the government to take a call on the construction of the proposed bus stand for Margao.
Hopes were raised in the last few days that the government would unveil the road map for the proposed bus stand at the KTC bus stand at its meeting scheduled on October 16 to be chaired by the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. The meeting, however, has been postponed with the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) on Monday, with the agency now expected to fix a fresh meeting date after discussions with the Chief Minister.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who had announced that the government has convened a meeting on October 16 to discuss the fate of the bus stand, hoped that the Chief Minister would convene a meeting at the earliest to take a call on the matter.
The Chief Minister will have to take a call whether the government will go in for the Public Private Partnership model to execute the project as it is estimated that the project will cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 350 crore.
Foundation stone for the modern bus stand was laid by former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Dussehra day eight years ago in 2011 during his stint as the State’s chief minister. The political change in guard that followed after the 2012 Assembly polls saw the project on the backburner with the Manohar Parrikar regime taking the stand that the project needs modification to meet the needs and requirements of Margao city.
It was only when the Manohar Parrikar returned back to power in 2017 with the support of the Goa Forward party, that the project was revived, with the government agreeing to execute the project on the PPP model.
