NT Reporter
Margao
Chinchinim sarpanch Frank Viegas on Tuesday led a delegation of panchayat members to the regional office of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Maharashtra and Goa, at Navi Mumbai, and submitted a no-objection certificate from Chinchinim comunidade as a final appeal for a bypass on stilts instead of an elevated road through the village.
In the memorandum, the panchayat requested a bypass on stilts at Dandeavaddo.
Viegas said the panchayat had passed resolutions in 2008 and 2009 supporting residents of Bandfoll, Dandeavaddo and Mingoll for a bypass, which would avoid congestion and allow scope for future expansion.
He said the proposed plan also accounts for residents displaced during land acquisition in 1989.
He added the comunidade has given a no objection certificate and urged the ministry’s chief engineer to reconsider the villagers’ request. Earlier, the panchayat had also apprised the Chief Minister of the demand.
Villagers had raised concerns that the 40-metre setback would permanently deprive residents with small landholdings while creating hardships at the busy junction.
The Centre recently laid the foundation stone for the western bypass expansion from Navelim to Uskiband in Cuncolim, costing around Rs 500 crore.
The 6.5-km stretch will include three elevated sections, including at Dandeavaddo-Chinchinim.
