PANAJI
The Centre has spent Rs 1099.69 crore for various road works between January, 2015, and March 31, 2018, PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar has revealed in the Goa Legislative Assembly.
The Centre is also spending a whopping Rs 2,701-odd crore on the ongoing works for the second Zuari bridge, including Rs 936.4 crore to build the bridge itself. Rs 819 crore for the four, six and eight-laning of the NH17 from GMC junction in Bambolim to the bridge and Rs 773.97 crore for the four and six-laning of the highway from the southern side of the bridge to the Verna IDC junction. Additionally, Rs 170.73 crore are earmarked for the approach roads to the bridges and utilities on either sides, Dhavalikar’s written reply stated.
Dhavlikar tabled this information in response to an unstarred question from former chief minister Digambar Kamat who wanted to know the total funds received from the Centre for roads and bridges in the three-and-half years since January 2015.
The minister told Kamat in the written reply that Rs 1099.69 crore was directly paid to the executing agencies by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) for all works on national highways. Pointing out that the Centre does not allocate money separately for roads and bridges, Dhavalikar also provided the break-up for all the controlversial big-ticket works being taken up, including Rs 298 crore for the Western Bypass in South Goa.
