PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has once again taken cognizance of deficiencies in the execution of the Porvorim flyover project as it reviewed submissions concerning alternate routes and pending roadworks, on Thursday.
During a continued hearing on a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate Moses Pinto, the Division Bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita Mehta directed the contractor, RRSM Infra Pvt. Ltd, to expedite the completion of unfinished roadworks, particularly improvements to service roads and measures to mitigate dust pollution.
The contractor submitted two affidavits detailing the execution timeline, barricading procedures and environmental mitigation measures undertaken at the project site. These affidavits were submitted in compliance with the High Court’s directions from the previous hearing.
Regarding the barricading & diversion plans, the contractor stated that the barricading work follows an “established procedure” with prior approval from the Public Works Department’s (PWD) Executive Engineer. “The permission is only granted after the side diversion roads on both sides are hot mixed…We have attached a detailed drawing which shows our execution plan based on which we have highlighted different pockets and the tentative dates on which we intend to fix barricade,” the affidavit stated.
However, it was contended that no traffic diversions were officially enforced, and service roads were allegedly prepared before barricading commenced.
On road surface quality and public inconvenience, the Court was informed that certain service road sections remained incomplete due to water pipeline leakages, requiring multiple reworks on blacktopping. The petitioner, however, argued that the road conditions remained substandard, leading to public inconvenience and safety hazards.
To mitigate dust pollution, the contractor claimed that five water tankers were deployed at scheduled intervals. Photographic evidence was submitted as annexures to demonstrate compliance.
In response to Amicus Curiae Abhijit Gosavi’s submission that road conditions had further deteriorated, the contractor assured the Court that these issues would be addressed on a priority basis.
The next hearing is scheduled for February 10 when compliance reports are expected to be placed on record.
