Government uses G20 to give Panaji facelift, expedite ongoing works

PANAJI: In a rush to get the state, particularly the capital city, ready for the G20 summit, the government has compelled various departments to work together and complete the works that are underway as part of the Smart City Mission.
While the simultaneous execution of the development works created havoc for locals and tourists, the government believes that the inconvenience was necessary for the city’s renewal. “Panaji has benefited exclusively because of the G20 summit,” said protocol secretary and G20 state nodal officer Sanjit Rodrigues. “The essence behind doing permanent change by piggyback riding on G20 is a plus for Panaji and Goa. We have pushed projects, which were dragging in the pipeline.”
Repairs of the D B Marg surface, erection of new LED street lights, a facelift in the heritage locality of Mala, Fontainhas and Sao Tome, completion of underground cabling and redevelopment of pavements along D B Marg.
“This would not have happened in normal course and each one would have taken its own time and would have gone at different levels. Panaji has benefited because works were undertaken in a parallel manner. All agencies came together,” said Rodrigues.
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has been nudged to take up maintenance of gardens and landscape development with a horticulturist and an architect being brought on board.
The government has also convinced PWD to speed up the repairs particularly to improve roads.The electricity department has almost completed the works that were pending since December 2022.
“Funding for many of these projects was already there. For Atal Setu it was under the defect liability clause, Smart City had its funding for sewerage, paver blocks and underground cabling. The PWD and the GSIDC had funding for the traffic islands, but work was not happening,” he said.