There is widespread discontent among the people. They say a beautiful city of Panjim which was quiet, peaceful and clean has now been rendered unlivable. The roads have been destroyed, the planning, execution and quality of work is poor. In this edition of Street Voices, Herald TV asked the people “Is it now time to totally scrap the Smart City project and go back to the drawing board to start afresh?”
The topic is complicated. If the Smart City project is scrapped, all those who are responsible right from the top to the bottom, should be brought to book, where crores of rupees have been already spent and gone down the drain. Panjimites and those who visit Panjim are put to such hardships. Shop owners have suffered miserably. Some have even given up their businesses, because people cannot come there, due to disastrous roads. If it is going to be scrapped then top engineers, top architects, were involved in this. What would you call this? Can there be such a failure of governance? This is the biggest disaster. But when we go to the drawing board what will we do? Here such advanced technology and such big money has been spent. If we go back to the drawing board, who will give the money? State govt does not have the money.
Trajano D’Mello, Political Analyst
To scarp this Smart City project at this stage after spending crores of rupees? This is tax payers money. The Smart City project has virtually become useless. If the project is scrapped, from whom should we collect the money? Will it come back to the public exchequer? How do we expect to go back to the drawing board? It is very difficult to talk on this topic. Firstly, crores of rupees have been spent. Secondly, people have suffered so much. Thirdly, nothing has come of the Smart City. Only cabling has been done, but what about the gutters and sewerage? What has Smart City to show? It is difficult to demand to scrap it. Will the money come back? Infact the people of Panjim should wake up and fight against the mess.
Mariano Ferrao
