PANAJI: There is no need to agitate. True to his word, chief minister Pramod Sawant is open to hearing grievances and resolving them, we experienced it firsthand, stated All Goa Civil Contractors’ Welfare Association on Monday, endorsing CM’s appeal to agitators currently protesting over different issues in the state.
The association said that to safeguard the interest of Goan contractors, the CM made the necessary amendments to the ‘Rules of Enlistment of Contractors in PWD/WRD, 2020’.
“Like the CM always says, do not protest, but explain your grievances to him and he will surely resolve the issues where possible. He gave us a patient hearing, noted our grievances and resolved them immediately,” said Rupesh Pangam, president of All Goa Civil Contractors’ Welfare Association.
Due to implementation of the new rules of enlistment 2020, Goans contractors already registered with Goa PWD or WRD were on the verge of getting disqualified, which would have resulted in huge losses for local Goan contractors and helped big construction companies make inroads in the Goa market, the contractors said.
The association had earlier met the CM to bring this to his notice.
“The new ‘Rules of Enlistment of Contractors in PWD/WRD, 2020’ were framed by taking base of specifications of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH). The CM after studying the matter decided to use the rules of enlistment of Central Public Works Department, as this would safeguard interests of local contractors,” said Pangam.
As per MORTH specifications, it was mandatory to acquire machinery. However, looking at the annual quantum of work offered to Goan contractors, it was not at all possible for them to fulfil these conditions.