Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed committee has uncovered irregularities in the construction of an arched bridge connecting the new Mandovi river promenade to Dayanand Bandodkar Road over the St Inez Creek.
The NGT committee’s, during its recent site visit, revealed discrepancies between the approved designs and the actual construction.
The panel also found that the pile caps supporting the bridge differed significantly from the approved design. While the GCZMA’s drawing indicated six piles, GSIDCL officials confirmed the presence of only four piles.
The committee found that the present width of the creek, approximately 23.78 m, fell short of the pre-construction measurement of 32 m.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Western Zone Bench, Pune, had admitted a plea filed by a group of citizens from Panjim challenging the construction of an arched bridge connecting the new Mandovi river promenade to Dayanand Bandodkar Road over St Inez Creek.
The group of petitioners, which includes former CCP councillor, Patricia Pinto, had alleged that the construction of the arch bridge is being done by the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) without obtaining any permission under the CRZ Notification, 2011, and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The petitioners had claimed that the NOC issued by Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) to GSIDC was done without any study concerning its impact on the river and St. Inez Creek.
The petitioners pointed out that the project also involves the construction of a permanent walkway-cum-cycling track along the riverbank touching the mouth of the creek, using cement and concrete.
Environmental activists said that the said project has come up with no environmental or hydrology studies and also claimed that there is no study done of the sites where the sand deposition takes place.
