Road digging without PWD nod to be banned to curb accidents: Goa CM Pramod Sawant
Underscoring the state's road safety crisis, chief minister
Pramod Sawant
said that the current road accident fatality rate exceeds that of Covid-19. 'People would stay at home for the fear of Covid-19 when one to two people lost their lives every day,' Sawant told the House.
'Now, on an average, two people die in
road accidents in Goa
every day.'
Replying to the calling attention motion on rising accidents, the CM said that state govt will soon impose a 100% ban on road digging without prior permission from the PWD.
A circular to this effect will be issued shortly, he said.
The calling attention motion was moved by MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Carlos Ferreira, Viresh Borkar, Venzy Viegas, Yuri Alemao, Cruz Silva, and Altone D'Costa.
The motion pointed to the rising number of fatal accidents attributed to poor road maintenance despite Supreme Court directives and state govt orders.
Sawant acknowledged that nearly 50% of accidents in Goa are due to poor road conditions and signal issues, with a lack of coordination among departments being a primary reason. 'Roads repaired by one agency are often dug up soon after by another,' he said.
To address this issue, Sawant said govt will recover road digging and repair costs from contractors who proceed without the PWD's permission.
The chief minister also announced that utility ducts for cabling and piping works will be made mandatory during the construction of major roads, a measure aimed at preventing repeated digging.
Sawant said that stress will be laid on strengthening road engineering to improve construction standards. A specialised team has been formed to identify accident-prone black spots across the state, enabling targeted interventions in high-risk areas, he said.
Govt has already taken several initiatives in compliance with the guidelines of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, Sawant said.
He said these include the restoration of crash barriers, construction of standardised speed breakers, implementation of speed limits, installation of traffic signboards and road markings, and median plantation projects.
He said show-cause notices have been issued to defaulting contractors, with rectification work being carried out at contractors' expense during the defect liability period.
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