Is the NH-17 passing through the commercial capital -- threatening to displaced dozens of bars and liqour outlets -- a national highway in the strict sense of the term or a highway only on paper?
MARGAO
Strange it may seem, but true. While the NH-17 that enters Margao city in the north at Dovondem before it exits at Navelim is a notified national highway, planning and municipal authorities consider this road as any other arterial road, popularly known as ODP road, while granting development permissions or issuing licenses for construction projects. In fact, the NH-17 passing through the city is no longer called a highway in the corridors of the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) and the Margao Municipal Council – the two licensing authorities for construction projects in the commercial capital.
Development permissions and construction licenses in the city are not issued as per the National Highway norms in force, but going by the ODP provisions in the City’s Outline Development plan concerning the road width and the road setbacks. In fact, no plan received for development permissions is referred to the National highway office for its stamp of approval.
A glance at the ODP for Margao shows that the NH-17 cutting right through the city does not even have an uniform road width – right from Dovondem to Colmorod-Navelim. While the Regional plan shows the width of the NH-17 right up to the Nuvem border as a 45 meter wide highway, the width of the highway falls immediate by 10 meters when it enters the city at Dovondem.
A closer look at the ODP further reveals that the road width comes down as the NH-17 enters the city via the Old market, the Holy Spirit Church square, Hospicio, the Collectorate-Margao Municipal square before it touches the city’s lone flyover over the railway tracks.
While the road width of the NH-17 at Dovondem is shown on the ODP as 30 meters as against 45 meters in neighbouring Nuvem village, the width of the highway comes down to 30 meters along the road passing by the KTC bus stand. At the Old market circle, the NH-17 road width is shown as 20 meters, before it falls to just 10 meters along the Holy Spirit Church square, before the road width increases to 20 meters along the Hospicio and Margao Municipal square.
Even on the flyover, the road width is not uniform going by the ODP plan. At one point, the road width of the highway on the flyover is a bare 10 meters, officials pointed.
A senior planning official told The Goan that all roads in the planning areas of Margao city are governed by the city’s Outline Development Plan and not by highway norms. In fact, the official pointed out that no plan received from the parties for development permission is referred to the National Highway authorities for approval under the NH norms, adding that the SGPDA grants the development permissions going by the City ODP plan.
That’s not all. Even the two notified State highways cutting through the commercial capital has a road width well below the State highway norms. While the State highway norms mandate 30 meter wide road, the existing State highway passing through the town to Aquem has a road width ranging from 15 meters to 20 meters and that all construction plans are guided
by the ODP norms in force in the city.
