Goa Forward Party Chief writes to PM Modi, urges intervention in Panjim Smart City Project execution

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goa Forward Party (GFP) Chief Vijai Sardesai expresses concern over the corruption, negligence and mismanagement in the execution of Panjim Smart City Project and demanded PM's urgent intervention and investigation into the matter.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goa Forward Party (GFP) Chief Vijai Sardesai has expressed concern over the corruption, negligence and mismanagement in the execution of Panjim Smart City Project and demanded urgent intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and investigation into the matter. Sardesai said that the city has degenerated because of haphazard and unplanned construction work in the process of transforming Panaji into a smart city. The situation has become a source of continuous distress for local residents of the city, he claimed.

"Respected Prime Minister, I write to you with a sense of urgency and concern regarding the Panjim Smart City Project. This project, envisioned to transform Panjim into a modern, efficient city, has degenerated, regrettably, into a monument of mismanagement, corruption, and negligence, severely impacting the quality of life of Panjim's residents. The Smart City Project has become a source of continuous distress for the citizens of Panjim," wrote Sardesai. Sardesai highlighted that despite of substantial fund allocation of approximately Rs. 1,200 crore, the execution of the project has been fraught with myriad issues, leading to widespread disillusionment, frustration and indignation among the residents.

"There are grave allegations of massive corruption and financial misappropriation associated with the project. Despite the Chief Minister acknowledging the faults of the consultant, no significant action has been taken against these contractors. The contractor in question has a history of substandard work across various departments, yet continues to receive government contracts," Sardesai wrote. According to the GFP Chief, the major issues that need immediate intervention are mismanagement and faulty execution of projects, flooding and infrastructure collapse, spontaneous sinkholes and safety hazards, traffic congestion and public inconvenience, fatal accidents and loss of lives and corruption and lack of accountability.

"The project, since its inception, has suffered from poor planning and execution. lnitial delays and the selection of an incompetent consultant led to significant setbacks. The recent transition to in-house consultancy has not sufficiently mitigated the problems. The haphazard and unplanned construction work has resulted in severe dust pollution, causing health hazards to the residents. Multiple petitions have been filed in the High Court of Bombay at Goa, demanding urgent measures to curb this pollution." While highlighting the issue of flooding and infrastructure collapse, Sardesai mentioned, "Recent heavy rainfall has exposed the inadequacies of the Smart City's infrastructure. Poor drainage systems have led to significant flooding, causing severe inconvenience and damage to properties. The newly constructed drainage system collapsed at Taad-Maad, near Caculo Mall, exacerbating the situation. The flooding has highlighted the lack of pre-monsoon preparedness and the substandard quality of work. Despite recent road renovations, these efforts have proven ineffective in preventing water logging."

Sardeasai also drew attention to the issue of sinkholes and spontaneous sinking and wrote, "The city has witnessed spontaneous sinkholes, notably near critical areas like the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry's office and BJP's office. Such incidents expose the compromised structural integrity of the newly constructed roads and drainage systems." Highlighting the loss of lives, he further wrote, "The project's negligence has resulted in tragic accidents, including the deaths of a labourer from Bihar and a local youth from Ribandar. These incidents point to a glaring lack of safety measures and oversight during construction activities."

He also raised the troubles and inconvenience caused to traffic and daily commuters by writing, "Extensive digging of roads for various Smart City works has caused severe traffic congestion, leading to daily hardships for commuters. The execution of these works without proper coordination and planning has rendered several roads impassable. GFP Chief urged PM Modi to order a comprehensive audit of the project, encompassing financial, quality, and safety aspects and initiate a criminal investigation against the responsible authorities for mismanagement and corruption.

He conveyed that the residents of Panjim are hoping for an enhancement of their quality of life and urged a prompt response and decisive action from the Prime Minister. (ANI)

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