MARGAO
At a time when the National Highway was gearing up to bulldoze with the construction of the Western Bypass sans stilts along the controversial 2.75 km Benaulim-Seraulim stretch by filling up the low-lying flood plains and wetlands, state bio-diversity and other agencies have virtually red-flagged the existing plan as they made a host of recommendations to protect the ecosystem of the region.
Agencies such as the Biodiversity Board, Wetland Authority of Goa, which come under the Ministry of Environment, besides the Water Resources Department may have not acceded to the demand of the local populace for construction of the bypass on stilts.They, however, have made significant recommendations to the National Highway to put in place two bridges and as many as 14 additional water outlets along the left of 2.75 km stretch.
Says State Bio-diversity Member Secretary, Dr Pradip Sarmokadam: “The agencies have made significant changes to the Western Bypass plan drawn by the National Highway. We have recommended construction of additional 14 major water outlets along the stretch and to put in place two bridges to avoid filing up of the water bodies”.
Dr Pradip told ‘The Goan’ that these recommendations have been made to avoid fragmentation of the flood plains and the ecosystem of the area. “We have forwarded the minutes and the report to the agencies, including the National Highway for consideration and implementation”, he told ‘The Goan’.
The recommendation of these expert agencies have come at a time when the National Highway was gearing up to execute the construction work on the 2.75 km bypass stretch between Seraulim and Benaulim via a contractor at a cost of around Rs 146 crore. Work on the 11-km Western Bypass is nearly complete between Navelim-Benaulim stretch and the Verna-Nuvem-Seraulim stretch.
The balance 2.75 km stretch of the bypass project entails construction of additional nine big size box culverts, and four underpasses at the road crossings. These additional measures were incorporated in the project following a sustained battle by the villagers of Benaulim and Seraulim on their one-point demand for bypass on stilts to avoid inundation of the flood plains of the River Sal and destruction to the ecology and bio-diversity of the area.
Will the govt factor in latest measures suggested by the Biodiversity Board and other agencies before going ahead with the construction work? Senior PWD Officials told ‘The Goan’ that the state government will finally have to take a call on the report and decide on the future course of action.
Questions are being raised whether the contractor will start work on the project when significant changes to the bypass plan have been recommended, more so when the issue has come under the scanner of the High Court as well as the National Green Tribunal.
When ‘The Goan’ contacted Executive Engineer, National Highway, Dattaprasad Kamat to shed light on the report sent by the State Biodiversity Board, he said his office is yet to receive a copy of the recommendation. “As and when my office is in receipt of the report and the recommendations, the same will be sent to the head office for necessary action”, he said.
Officials say it is for the government to take a call on the question of implementing the recommendations by the agencies on additional measures along the bypass. They, however, in private said the government can ill afford to ignore the recommendations made by agencies associated with two departments, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Department, more so when the matter is pending before the High Court and the NGT.
