the goan I network
MARGAO
As villagers of Benaulim and Seraulim once again insisted on the construction of the western bypass on stilts along the 2.75 km problematic stretch passing through the flood plains of the two villages, PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar only assured the agitated people that he would call a meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant along with Advocate General and other officials to work out a solution to the tangle.
The villagers also rejected the suggestion made by PWD, NH Executive Engineer Laxmikant Naik that desilting of the river Sal will solve 90 per cent of flooding, demanding to know the basis on which he has based his assessment.
While Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao urged the PWD Minister to stop work on the project till the government takes a decision on the issue, Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro, who had come to meet the Minister to discuss the rehabilitation of the inmates of the four mundcarial houses of Telaulim, said a bypass on stilts was the only way out to avoid flooding and devastation in the low-lying areas.
The meeting with the PWD Minister was arranged by the Benaulim MLA to discuss the issue threadbare and was attended by the sarpanchas of Benaulim Ezlina Fernandes and Seraulim Domingos Rodrigues, ZP members Nelly Rodrigues and Maria Rebello, besides panch members, villagers and others at the PWD rest house, Monte Hill.
The PWD minister told the media after the meeting that he would arrange a meeting with the Chief Minister and the Advocate General given that the issue is pending in the High Court.
“I do not want to offer any comment on the matter because it is pending before the High Court. The High Court has issued certain directions to complete the work and since the people are insisting on the bypass on stilts, I will speak to the Chief Minister on the matter,” he said.
While demanding to know why the PWD, NH did not take the local MLA and the residents into confidence before filing the affidavit in the High Court, the residents contended that the government cannot bulldoze the project by taking the name of the High Court when it is clear that building the bypass sans stilts would be a disaster in the making.
“I am an MLA representing Benaulim and Seraulim villages, but I was never taken into confidence when the PWD filed the affidavit in the High Court”, he said, adding that the contractor, who hails from outside the state, would build the bypass and head to his native state, leaving the local people in the lurch.
Varca resident Nazario Pinto questioned EE Laxmikant Naik why the sentiments of the villagers demanding the bypass on stilts was not reflected in the affidavit filed in the court, while Benaulim resident Rudolf Barretto said the desilting of the river Sal will not address the issue in toto since the water comes down to the village right from the Verna plateau. The duo demanded that the government shift the deadline to complete the project if the government is facing resource constraints.
ZP member Nelly Rodrigues called for the construction of the bypass on stilts, fearing ecological disaster in the two villages, while former Benaulim Sarpanch Rolya Fernandes alleged that the government has cunningly restricted the length of the bypass to skip the Environmental Clearance
(EC).
