PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has taken serious cognizance of the alleged incorrect affidavit submitted by contractor M/s Lion Engineering Consultants Pvt Ltd regarding the hot mixing of roads as part of the ongoing Porvorim elevated corridor project.
During the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation filed by petitioner Moses Pinto on Thursday, residents of Porvorim represented by Adv Abhijit Gosavi submitted photographic evidence before the Division Bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita Mehta, confirming that several stretches of the road between Porvorim and Guirim were still in poor condition despite claims of hot mixing. Specific locations include O’Coqueiro Junction, near the Hyundai showroom, opposite Orion Hotel, opposite the Toyota showroom and Wellness Pharmacy, Aradi-Socorro Junction, opposite Galaxy Residency, Nexa showroom, Croma showroom; and the Guirim-Parra highway service road.
“This indicates that the assurances given to the Court were incorrect,” he stated while submitting photographs as evidence.
In the previous hearing, the Court had asked the concerned including the petitioner to inspect the road conditions to verify compliance personally. Given the alleged non-compliance, the Court has now directed the Public Works Department to file an inspection report by Friday. Besides, the contractor has been asked to submit an affidavit by Monday detailing the extent of the hot mixing completed and to explain why the work was not carried out as assured.
The petitioner further pointed out the absence of traffic marshals along the stretch during the latest inspection. Gosavi, appearing for intervenor residents, said it would also be brought to the Court's attention on Tuesday with a request to deploy traffic personnel to manage vehicular movement.
During the last hearing on January 13, Advocate General Devidas Pangam informed the Court that a 600-metre stretch near the Hyundai showroom was untarred. After this, the Bench directed the contractor to complete all pending tasks and submit a compliance report within a week. An intervention petition was also filed.
Last month, the High Court ordered the contractor to finish the hotmixing and tarring of alternate roads, created to manage traffic during construction, within 10 days from December 18, 2024. It further prohibited any new construction or trenching along the O’Coqueiro to Mapusa stretch until January 1, 2025.
The contractor had assured the Court that measures would be taken to mitigate pollution, expedite blacktopping, and ensure that no new construction begins until the alternate roads are properly hot mixed and are ready for use.
