Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: The State government today told the Bombay High Court at Goa that all the city roads, which are currently shut due to ongoing Smart City works, would be opened up in a phased manner, most likely by May 31.
Advocate General Devidas Pangam also assured the Division Bench to file a detailed compliance report on dust pollution, traffic management and road safety by next week.
“Roads, which are currently shut in Panaji due to ongoing Smart City works, would be opened up in a phased manner, most likely by May 31,” AG Pangam told HC
The Bombay High Court at Goa has adjourned the hearing for April 16.
“You can see the gravity of dust pollution in Panaji,” remarked High Court judge Justice Mahesh S Sonak during the inspection of the ongoing smart city works in Panaji on April 1.
Piyush Panchal, Alwyn D’Sa, Neelam Navelkar, and Christus C. Lopes of Caranzalem, as well as Sadanand Vaingankar of Panaji, have filed the PIL writ petitions.
Panchal and two other petitioners had cited the possible health risks associated with digging as well as the lack of action taken to reduce or manage dust pollution brought on by the capital city’s numerous roads and other infrastructure projects.
According to the petitioners, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) neglected public health and safety by failing to carry out an assessment study of the effects of large-scale road construction and infrastructure works being carried out concurrently in high-density residential and commercial areas within the limits of Panaji.
