Title of project paper

"Developmental activities in Ponda Town-A case study."

Project Report by: - Ali Ahmad Khan

Enrolment Number: 178378485 (BTS)

REGIONAL CENTRE CODE: - PANAJI (08)

Mobile Number: - 9623471996

Email ID: - [email protected]

PTS -05

2020
 CERTIFICATE

I the project report entitled “Developmental activities in Ponda town-A case study." the
Impact on Environment”, (PTS-05) is original work prepared by Mr. ALI AHMAD KHAN
Enrolment Number: 178378485 (BTS) and submitted for the partial fulfillment for the
award of degree in (BTS) Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), The work
has been carried out by him under my guidance and supervision.

Place: Ponda
Dated: - 24/05/2021
Guide/Supervisor

Dr C P HIREMATH
CONTENTS

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER II INFRASTRUCTURE IN GOA

CHAPTER III DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN PONDA

CHAPTER IV DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND

CONSEQUENCES

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION
CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVES

METHODOLOGY

ASSUMPTIONS

INTRODUCTION
 CHAPTER I

Development is a process that creates growth, progress or addition of physical,

ecological, environmental, social and demographic components to the surrounding. It is
the state of advancement or growth. It generally means good change for the betterment
of the country and the World.

Development can be variable, countable and uncountable, it is the systematic use of

scientific and technical knowledge to meet the requirements or specific objectives. An
extension of theoretical or practical aspects of a concept, designs or invention. The
process of Social and Economic transformation that is based on complex cultural and
environmental factors and their interactions.

A Developed country is defined as Sovereign state that has developed economy and
has technologically advanced infrastructure along with other factors like Human
Development Index (HDI), Political stability, Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
Industrialization and freedom. India is one of the developing nations.

On infrastructural front, Roads have major role in development of the economy of a

Country. For past many years India has been focusing on this area for swift movements
of the sectors which overall will benefit the nation. The country being the apex of the
model the development at the base level is important. The base involves of rural roads
followed by District Roads state roads and National highways. However, there are
always some or the constraints which are faced by the people residing in the areas
where developmental activities take place.

In this study we are going to throw some light on the consequences faced by the recent
developmental activities in my Country followed by my State and my Locality.

OBJECTIVES

1. To understand the development activity and its effects on the society at large.

2. To study the positive impact of the development activities and its achievements.

3 To study the ongoing developments in Ponda locality and the problems people faced.

4. To study the development activities in the region.

METHODOLOGY

The study was carried out on the basis of empirical observations in and around
Ponda town of south goa district. Infrastructure data was collected from various
offices of Government of Goa whereas references. Advancement in developmental
activities in Goa region and in Ponda was analysed. Various issues aroused out due
to the developmental activities were found out.

People in and around where the new infrastructural development took place like the
flyover in Ponda were interviewed with their consent and the point of view were
analysed to ascertain advantages as well as disadvantages. Based on the merit’s
conclusion was drawn.

ASSUMPTIONS

• Due the ongoing developmental activities there were many changes that took
place in the city of ponda as well as in the looks and views of Ponda.
• People considered Ponda as a city which was underdeveloped and poor in its
economy.
• But after all this development activities Ponda has now all necessary facilities
available in the vicinity.
• People’s perspective towards the city of Ponda changed
• People preferred staying in Ponda intead of shifting to other cities due to lack of
facilities.
• Businessmans started opening new ventures and shops in Ponda as they saw
new and profitable market.
• Whole look of Ponda changed from a village area to more of city area.
• Yes, indeed there were problems due to the developmental activities but
presently people are enjoying the facilities provided to them slowly.
 CHAPTER II

INFRASTRUCTURE IN GOA

Airports
Water Transport
Power
Banking and Finance
Roads
Railway
Ports
Power
Water
Telecom
 CHAPTER II

INFRASTRUCTURE OF GOA

Goa being the smallest state has good infrastructure supporting its economy. It is well
connected with other states and countries. It is mainly famous for Tourism due to its
peaceful nature and wonderful stretch of Beaches for leisure. However, there are
various business hubs and many other economic activities due to which a well-
developed infrastructure is needed in the future prospects to flourish. The following are
brief insights into the infrastructural strength of Goa;

Airports

Goa has well developed international airport with customs clearance facilities and well
connected to major cities of India, besides facilities for chartered flights.
Goa's Dabolim International Airport is 25 km away from the State Capital, Panaji.
Chartered flights from European countries arrive here regularly. The airport has
customs clearance facilities. Goa is linked to Bombay, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Madras,
Hyderabad, Cochin and Trivandrum by air.
 Water Transport

Goa has a well-developed internal water transport network formed by a grid of

navigable rivers. This offers industries a most economical mode of transport for their
goods and raw material throughout the State. The barges that ply the internal water
network are swift, efficient and most important, reliable. Recently Angriya has been
launched for covering the route between Goa and Mumbai. It is one the lavish and
luxurious Cruise.

Banking and Finance

Several all-India Financial Institutions along with the State's Financial and Infrastructure
Developmental Organisations help entrepreneurs to get a firm foothold in Goa without
any inconvenience.

Roads
Goa has 195 km for every 100sq. Km, against the National average of 50 Kms of roads
for 100 sq. km.
Well connected by two national highways along the West coast, namely NH4A and
NH17, besides the dense network of metallic roads connecting the state to other parts
of the country.

Railway

South-Central Railway and Konkan Railway providing rail links with major cities. Well
linked by rail South-Central railway to Bangalore, Delhi, Bombay and Secundrabad and
proposed to be well connected with Konkan railway from Bombay to Mangalore.

Ports

Excellent all weather international port with multipurpose general cargo berth and fully
containerised service operations.
Mormugao port is one of the best all weather natural ports in India. It can accommodate
over 50 ships in outer anchorage. Port has mechanised loading facility, an oil berth and
general Cargo berth. Minor ports are also available along the river.

Power
Compared to the National pattern of
industrial power consumption, the share
of the industrial sector in the Goa power
pie is much larger. The power supply
situated is therefore more than
comfortable for industrial users. Goa's
per capita power consumption which is
690 kWh is good indicator to current
power supply situation. Abundant power
available through central grid from super
thermal power stations

Water

Goa has sufficient water for domestic as well as industrial uses. To cater for the future
requirement the state Government has initiated the Selaulim Water Supply project.
Water available in adequate quantity and is piped through Asnora, Selaulim and Opa
reservoirs.
 Telecom

The Telecom facilities in Goa are on par with other metro cities in the country. Optical
fibre provides high speed access to a wide range of Internet related services from Email
to the www. Goa is the second State of the Country to achieve 100% automatic
telephone system, with a very good network of Telephone Exchanges.
All towns are well connected to the STD and ISD network with 100% automatic
telephone system and is being connected to optical fibre network.
 CHAPTER III

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN PONDA

FLYOVER OF PONDA
HEALTH ISSUES
OTHER ISSUES
NEW MARKET COMPLEX

RELOCATION OF RTO OFFICES

MARRIAGE REGISTRAR OFFICE

UPCOMING HOUSING LOCATION

SPORTS COMPLEX

CULTURAL PROMOTION CENTRE

RAJIVGANDHI KALA MANDIR

SHIGMOTSAV

SEWARAGE WORK

UNDERGROUND ELECTRICITY CABLE

UNDERGROUNG GAS PIPELINE

CHAPTER III

ADVANCEMENT IN MY LOCALITY (PONDA)

Ponda is one of the talukas of Goa where developmental activities like other talukas are
carried out for the betterment of the state. Although most of the rural areas in this taluka
have well progressed in developmental factors like Health and Education, the road
network connecting these areas to the urban zone have also been developed with
period of time making it easily accessible for various purposes.

The roads are the arteries through which the economy pulses. By linking producers to
markets, workers to jobs, students to school and sick to the hospital’s roads are vital to
any developmental agenda.

The Ponda city which is the heart of Ponda Taluka has undergone many alterations in
construction of roads for better flow of goods and services across the state. It hosts
many educational institutes and manufacturing industries.

FLYOVER OF PONDA

National highway 748(NH748) which starts from Belgaum in Karnataka and ends at
Panjim in Goa passes through Ponda with main junction NH 566 near Ponda making it
easier to facilitate trade between the states this route. In 2014 the project to include
three flyovers in Ponda has gotten approved to reduce the traffic on the routes by the
Government of the state with this approval, lots of changes in the nearby areas where
the widening of roads and construction of flyover has taken off started to occur. The
National Highway (Flyover) is of 7kms which stretches from Khandepar to Curti which is
four laned bridge passing over the great archaeological heritage of India that is the Safa
Masjid. The work of the flyover at Ponda started in 2014. It was inaugurated on 29 th
December 2019 in the gracious presence of Honourable Chief Minister Shri Pramod
Sawant.

Inaugurations of the Curti Bypass on 29th December by Honourable CM

Shri Dr. Pramod Sawant.

Khandepar highway after widening

Construction at junction of Curti Bypass Ponda

PROBLEMS FACED DUE TO THE PROJECT

The flyover of Ponda that starts near the Safa Masjid and continues on the Curti Bypass
proved to be quite dangerous. The locals criticized faulty Engineering, which they feel is
the root cause behind confusion prevailing at Curti junction and corresponding risk in
number of fatal accidents. The service road was forced to be used as two-way road for
vehicles coming from Ponda in one direction and then there are vehicle in other
direction the vehicles heading towards Khandepar and Belgaum. Locals pointed out that
the junction is at the area where several roads meet at Curti and amigo junction and
National Highway Authorities should have provided a one way.

As the work was progressing of the flyover there were no signboards addressed at the
Amigo junction where people would travel with great speed without warning, which
might have led to serious fatalities. The road from Ponda to Khandepar was blocked by
NH Authorities at Sateri temple as they felt an underpass was required without which,
confusion and chaos could lead to accidents. Later with much alterations of the road
and adding underpass and putting up signboards the situations were bought in control
as the time for inauguration of the Flyover neared.

As the work of the much-awaited flyover on the Curti Bypass stretch of Ponda-Belgaum
highway neared completion the residents came to know about their access from the
main highway will be blocked by the PWD after the flyover starts operating. People were
agitated and were ready to strike. Panch member Rajesh Naik said thousands of people
commute daily on the stretch of road and with KTC Bus stand being the main spot,
almost all passenger buses use the route adding to which he suggested that PWD
should have considered building an underpass at the junction or made some other
provisions before the construction process have started and profiled the route used by
number of people but they only settled for temporary arrangement by making an
opening to the road divider.

Mr Naik also stated “the roundabout till Farmagudi will cause increase in the traffic flow
at Farmagudi circle, which is already common roundabout for Dhavali bypass road of
Margao Highway. It will lead to more traffic congestion making commuting riskier and
more prone to more accidents”.

The issue was not simple though but sources said Safa Masjid being an heritage site at
shahpur along the Highway, PWD has not considered building an underpass at the
point as it wasn’t allowed and no provisions were made for traffic proceedings towards
the KTC bus stand.

However, later on when the traffic started, the service road was stretched a bit more by
taking the consent of the residents and space as provided only for 2 wheelers to pass
from the opposite side to reach their destination avoiding the long 2 km stretch which is
so far going well.
Being the resident, seeing the traffic and the control over it,we have been overall
relaxed for now. Although approximately 4 years of alteration has led to final output
which for now is good enough but the problems faced can’t be forgotten especially
related to health.

The Flyover has a beautiful view of the buildings, sports complex of Ponda, Masjids and
Temples over its long stretch. People now prefer going for a walk on the flyover as it is
less crowded then the service road below with good air and less noise.

The scene of Bypass after construction where people gathered to raise voice
regarding the 2km long round about.

Congestion faced at the junction in front of Safa Masjid

Deforestation: -

In the Khandepar region the hilly mountains were cut to construct this highway which
led to massive deforestation and tree cutting which also led to severe biodiversity loss in
that area.

Deforestation also caused soil erosion and landslides in this region.

One such incident of landslide happened in the Khandepar hills which blocked the
roadways completely for around 5-6 days which caused complete halt in the transport of
people and goods.

It also caused pipeline damage and water shortage in whole of Ponda taluka and
surrounding areas supplief by that pipelines.
Displacement: -

Many people had to be relocated and displaced to new place due to their homes coming
in between the National Highway which were demolished. Many shops and local
properties were captured for this project.

PEOPLE’S VIEW

On seeking reviews from people around my village, of course there are mixed feelings
among people, there’s happiness as well as distress.

“Talking about the State, people are very happy to see Atal sethu but when that same
highway crosses through the houses, fields, khazans, mangroves etc. destroys the
beauty and identity of Goa. Yet to meet the needs of growing population development in
the roads becomes utmost necessity to avoid further chaos and related problems.
Similarly, in Ponda, which is the centremost part of the state and caters to most of the
transportational activities across the borders, the government decided to build flyover
for easy flow of movement. National highway 748(NH748) which starts from Belgaum in
Karnataka and ends at Panjim in Goa passes through Ponda with main junction NH 566
near Ponda town ,Part of which is exactly infront of our house in its more than 1 km
length. While the construction was in its initial stages lots of problems were faced by the
villagers. specially in front of our house which had huge space where people of the
villages use to park the cars, children used to play ,elderly people used to walk in
evening, youngsters used to practice car and bike driving etc. The main road was 50
meters away from the house making it less noisy and more peaceful even with the
traffic.

HEALTH ISSUES: -

With the widening and flyover construction only 12 meters distance is left between the
door and the service road, which caters to the population of Ponda. The most
problematic situation was tackling the pollution, specially being prone to hereditary
sinusitis issues. Normal healthy people were also suffering from the dust and health
issues related to it. Apart from that the houses were totally in mud, we had to keep
doors shut to reduce the dirt in the houses yet due to the roofs made of Mangalore
titles, the dust in the house was inevitable. Cleaning the house twice as mandatory for
all the households.” States Ruheen Mulla.
The locality where the construction has taken place belongs to Mulla family so most of
their opinions were taken, of course things were abided as per Government needs.
There were still clashes between state and central government on demolition of old
RTO building. The State Government refused to do so, therefore the Central
Government insisted on constructing a tunnel for the Highway.

“Mr Javed Mulla lost a Part of his veranda in the construction of service road, his wife,
who is suffering from rheumatism had to face lots of health issues due to continuous
pollution. They had to stay on rent at some other place to avoid complication”

The huge machineries which were brought for construction purposes would run day and
night making noises which would in turn lead us to lose our patience but we had no
choice except to be patient cause one day it would be over. being house arrested,
suffering from various health issues and lacking sleeps due to sounds of machines
made the situations at homes sometimes worse as one needs to mentally stable to deal
with life.

OTHER ISSUES: -

These are the problems that everyone has gone through not in only in our area but the
areas across the country where the constructional activities are taking place for
developmentOther issues faced were continuous loss of water supply due to
constructional activities. The machines which dug the ground would eventually cut the
water pipes making us water deprived for a day or two. Sometimes it was repaired
earliest sometimes it would be the longest specially making it difficult in summer.

❖ POSITIVE IMPACT DUE TO DEVELOPMENT

➢ The Flyover has a beautiful view of the buildings, sports complex of Ponda,
Masjids and Temples over its long stretch. People now prefer going for a walk on
the flyover as it is less crowded than the service road below with good air and
less noise.

➢ It now helps in combating the traffic in the area and provides a straight and good
road for the travellers travelling long distances without facing the local traffic.

➢ It reduces the road traffic accidents in the locality due to overspeeding vehicles
and heavy vehicles travelling for long distances.

➢ The roads which were greatly damaged due to potholes were cleared and
created good roadsfor the residents and travellers.
NEW MARKET COMPLEX PONDA

The new market complex in Ponda was inaugurated on December 2011. It is an eight-
year-old building as per now 2021. It was constructed at a cost of around Rs 27 crore
with a provision of 155 shops, 40 offices, 5 stalls, 3 flats, a hall and a parking space of
around 134 vehicles at the complex.

Even after 8 years of its construction it is still not utilized. All the efforts by the Ponda
Municipal Council (PMC) and other government agencies like Goa State Urban
Development Agency (GSUDA) and Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) have
failed so far.

It was built with a view to give new job opportunities to the locals of Ponda as well as
outside Ponda in the market complex. But till date most of them remain vacant and also
complex lacks with its maintenance.
Of the 155 shops, 121 shops are allocated for rehabilitation the existing lessees, but
most are yet to shift. 3 shops are occupied by the PMC library, Indian Red Cross
Society and Ponda Consumer Society. Remaining wil be given by tender processes.

In july 2019, the CM Pramod Sawant along with Urban Development Minister Milind
Naik, Ponda MLA Ravi Naik and members and members of the local urban body had
jointly inspected the complex and had assured to fully operationalise it by 2019 post
Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration.

But till now it remains non operational.

❖ ADVANTAGES: -

• It would create many job opportunities to the locals of Goa especially

Ponda.
• Give a new look to the old and dirty market complex with more organized
and clean area for market.
• It will decrease the mess created in old market complex due to place and
area issues. It will also decrease the fights between the sellers for the
place allotted to them.
• Proper maintenance can be done and people will also be satisfied with it.
• Will give a beautiful look to Ponda and its market place.
• Many more advantages will be seen once the complex is operational.

❖ DISADVANTAGES: -

• During the beginning of the new market complex the local sellers had to
be relocated to new places and a temporary area for market was started.
This created a lot of mess and fights within the sellers for places to sell
their products.
• The sellers were assured place in the new market complex but till now it is
not operational which is creating a lot of problems to them.
• A lot of money and place was utilized for this great project which took a
long time to get completed.
• People of Ponda are still waiting for the start of their new market complex
from last 8 years and so on.
RELOCATION OF GOVERNMENT OFFICES

RTO OFFICE: -

The new RTO office of Ponda was shifted from opposite of Safa Masjid to the new Bus
stand. The old RTO office did not have space for offices and was congested with a very
old building.

The new RTO office was inaugurated on 1st December by the hands of Shri Sudin
Dhavlikar, hon’ble PWD minister of Goa and in the presence of Shri Lavoo Mamledar,
MLA of Ponda Constituency.

The new RTO office has its own space for all offices and all works are done in a full-
fledged manner.

The new building has 3 floors, 1 ground floor and 2 top floors. The office has its parking
space below for both two wheelers and four wheelers. Each floor has 4-5 offices
dedicated to each department. The office even has its own place for test drive before
granting license.
ADVANTAGE: -

• New building over the old broken building. New look to the RTO office of
Ponda.
• Dedicated offices to each department of work.
• Alloted parking space to the office unlike the previous RTO office which
didn’t have a parking space and thus created traffic around that area due
to haphazard parking.
• Area for test drive before granting license to two-wheeler riders.
• Open space which reduced crowding of the office.

DISADVANTAGE

• Shifting of the whole RTO office took a long time.

• Accepting the new changes and adjusting to it took a long. A lot of work
remained pending of people due to relocation work.

MARRIAGE REGISTRAR OFFICE

The marriage registrar office shifted to new building of RAJDEEP GALLERIA a year
ago. All marriages and certification take place here.
 UPCOMING HOUSING LOCATIONS

The Housing Board of Ponda which is in Jaycee Nagar is an old housing location.

The new upcoming housing complex is behind the old housing complex which is being
built.

It has a greater number of flats and spacious flats. There are around 6-7 buidings
coming up in that area. This building is of low rates and affordable to local people who
dream to have a house of their own.

ADVANTAGES: -

• New place for people to buy and stay at affordable prices.

• The buildings are at good locations with all necessary thing closeby like
the bus stand, market within an area of 2km location.
• Spacious flats comparatively to older ones.
SPORTS COMPLEX OF INDIA - PONDA

The Sports Complex of India (SAI) is located in near Naga Masjid area. The sports
complex has various facilities for the sport’s enthusiastic person. It is spread around 3
acres of land.

It consists of swimming pool which has also a baby pool for the learners and a big pool
which maximum upto 50mts of dept. it has a sitting area for the people i.e the stadium. It
has a separate changing room and bathing room for boys and girls. Many life guards
are kept on duty to keep a watch on the swimmers and protect them incase of
emergency.
It has 2 badminton courts, tennis courts. There is a very big playground of around 1
acre and running tract around it for walking and running of people.

Many classes were arranged for the children to learn badminton, tennis, cricket,
swimming, karate, football, athletics, archery, boxing, taekwondo and many more.

Clean and new toilets were built for hygienic environment and clean drinking water was
made available for the students and playing children.

There was a separate building nearby for academy students as hostel for the children to
stay and practice their game away from home.

In the New Sports Complex, there were many changes made.

It took around 2 years for this project to get completed. Until then all activities were
stopped in the complex area.

New badminton courts were added. New tennis courts were added.

Separate place for cricket practice was made with nets for the children to practice
without any hinderance.
Fence is now put around the complete play ground to prevent any injury to the runner
and walkers in the running track.

Rubber flooring is put in running track to prevent foot injury and good tract for the
runners.
Flood lights were installed in the complex to provide light during the night time for the
people who practice during evenings and night time.

ADVANTAGE: -

All the above changes led to many good things in the complex and was very
advantageous to all the people.
DISADVANTAGES: -

It took a long time for the construction of the complex which led to complete halt of all
activities in the complex.

The practice sessions of the children were hindered due to the construction activities.

CULTURAL AXTIVITIES PROMOTION CENTRES IN PONDA

RAJIV GANDHI KALA MANDIR

The Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda was established by the Government of Goa as an
Autonomous body on 05th April 2002 under the Registration of Societies Act 1860,
bearing Reg. No. 88/Goa/02 dated 09/04/2002 with an objective of fostering,
developing/promoting Dance, Drama, Music, Literature, Art and also to promote through
them Cultural unity of the State & the Country. The Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda
also caters to the general public with various facilities like Auditorium, conference hall,
open auditorium, art gallery, etc wherein various programs, workshops and conferences
take place.
Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda plays a pivotal role in forming a niche in art and
culture in the State of Goa. Since its inception the objective of the institution is to
promote art and culture of the State and the country.

As an institution, it has deeply influenced the art practices and provided facilities like
open auditorium, art gallery, conference hall etc. catering to the needs of general public
for conducting various programmes, workshops and conferences.

MUSIC SECTION

Music is an art of expressing and modulating emotions with the help of vocal or
instrumental sounds. Considering the inclination and special interest of the public of
Ponda Taluka, Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir, Ponda initiated Music classes for the students
and people from Ponda Taluka. Training is given in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music
and Instrumental Music such as, Sitar, Tabla and Guitar. etc. It is aimed to provide a
specialized training to the Music students in all important aspects of Hindustani Music
with a special emphasis on developing his/her performing ability to the professional
standard. For improving performing ability of students, they are encouraged to perform
on various occasions of Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir.
OPEN AUDITORIUM

Mini gatherings, Seminars etc. can be organized in Open Air Auditorium and
approximately 400 persons can be accommodated in the auditorium.

MAIN AUDITORIUM

Main Auditorium is a propitious place for art lovers and general public to witness various
types of activities, cultural programmes, gatherings, lectures, demonstartons etc.

The main auditorium of Rajiv Gandhi Kala Mandir is known as Mast. Dattaram
Natyagruha which is named in the memory of Late. Mast. Dattaram Volvaikar, a
legendary Goan Drama artists and musician.
CONFERENCE HALL

Conference Hall is a proper place for art lovers and general public to conduct activities
like Meetings, Conferences, book publications etc. having sitting capacity of 135chairs.
SHIGMOTSAV

Ponda was made the cultural centre of Goa. All cultural programmes like the
shigmotsav were decided to be started in Ponda then in other places of Goa.

Ponda has a lot of villages along with the cities in its taluka, so it was decided that
Ponda will be declared cultural destination for all promotions. Ponda also has a greater
number of temples than any other taluka in Goa which makes it rich in cultural heritage
of Goa.

Due to this decision by Govt of Goa Ponda got its unique identity aand also developed
all its tourist destination like the temples and the festival in full fledged manner to attract
more tourist and gain an important place and identity in the state of Goa.

SEWARAGE WORK

2 years ago the underground sewerage work started all over Ponda. All the places of
Ponda was almost dug deep to work for the sewerage work. This was to solve the
ongoing problem of sewage disposal of all buildings and households which was
overflowing and polluting the local water bodies as well as contaminating the drinking
water pipeline passing along with it.

There was a great hue and cry over the ongoing sewerage work in Ponda as all places
and roads were dug up with almost every 30mts distance.
PROBLEMS FACED: -

• It created mud and dust pollution due to lack of planning.

• During digging of the sewage pipelines sometimes the water pipelines got
damaged and water used to overflow on the road making the roads slippery
for the riders and it also choked up the gutter due to lack of cleaning of the
gutters.
• As Ponda is full of underground water tables, the water got overflowed on the
roads.
• Due to this work the roads got damaged and potholes were created which led
to many road traffic accidents. Many roads were blocked and diverged due to
ongoing work and it created a lot of traffic in areas.
• Till now the restoration work of the dugged areas haven’t taken place and the
roads are still uneven for ridding and driving.
• Due to broken water pipelines, it also created water shortage is nearby areas.
• Many people complained due to this to the PWD office and due to the
pollution created by them.

UNDERGROUND ELECTRICITY CABLE

Recently the work of underground electricity cable started in Goa. This was done by
laying down underground hugh voltage electricity cable as a supply to all households
and industries.

It includes conversion of 11kV overhead feeder to underground cable, installation of

11kV Ring Main Unit (RMU) for dedicated distribution transformers and bifurcation,
interlinking of underground feeders, conversion for low tension overhead line to
underground cable, etc.

ADVANTAGES: -

• Laying of underground cables reduced the number of cables overhead which

used to cause harm to the birds flying by getting caught in the cables.
• The cables burnt during rainy season leading to power shortage and harm to
objects or sometimes even people and houses around it.
• So underground cables were beneficial
PROBLES FACED: -

• Laying underground cables cost a lot to govt.

• Road digging and laying them caused a lot of pollution and problem to the
people.

UNDERGROUNG GAS PIPELINES

Goa’s piped gas project the commissioning of which is highly delayed got its first boost
recently with Crompton and Greaves, Kundaim, the first company in the state signing
the gas purchase agreement with Goa Natural Gas Pvt. Ltd. (GNG), the company that is
implementing the project.

Crompton and Greaves signed for 1,000 standard cubic meters per day (scmd) of gas.
More companies are likely to sign up as we are seriously approaching large industries in
Kundiam, Madkai and Usgoan, to purchase natural gas from us as per Ajay Kumar
Jindal, Chief Executive Officer, GNG.

Industries in Goa is ready to switch to a cleaner fuel and discussions are in an

advanced stage with Godrej Locks, Madkai for sale of natural gas. Jindal recently joined
as the new CEO of GNG and in previous assignment executed GAIL’s Bangalore piped
gas project where over one lakh households got natural gas connection for cooking. It is
hopeful that the state’s piped gas project will be commissioned soon and Goans get to
enjoy piped gas for cooking.

“Natural gas for cooking, vehicles, industrial and commercial use is more than two
decades old in states like Assam. It is a trend that is steadily spreading to all states and
Goa for sure will also switch to natural gas in future,” Jindal prophesies. Right now the
project is on tract with govt of Goa clearing all hurdles and moving forward with the
project.

The state recently appointed Anthony D’Souza as the new nodal officer for the project.
After his appointement it is being viewed in positive light by GNG officials since D’Souza
having been with the Gokak-Goa gas pipeline project since inception in 2013 is well
versed with the difficulties in implementation.

Ponda households got thier piped gas in their kitchens by this January 1 2020, while
industries in Kundaim-Madkai-Usgaon belt are likely to got it earlier. They set up a DRS
station in Ponda city and also constructed a 500 meter connecting pipeline.

A total of 1,000 households in Ponda city have paid the Rs 500 registration fee. GNG
officials approached all the households for installation of the GI gas meter. The
installation of the gas meter will be on payment of security (refundable) deposit of Rs
5,000.

Infrastructure for supply of piped gas to Ponda households is complete. It comprises

25km of pipe network. For CNG to the transport sector we need a city gate station. The
station will come up in Madkai. It is over 2,300 sq. mtr. of land.

Presently all households in Ponda have got their personal pipelines for CNG suppy but
the supply of CNG is yet to be started in the State.

Presently the company is looking at piped gas supply to the localities of Ponda- old
Goa- and Panjim. In Panjim about 25 km of pipeline network is complete is Taliegao
and Caranzalem localities. Another 15-km of pipeline is to be added in Panjim city. A
second DRS station is to be constructed mostly around the Goa Medical College for
which efforts are on to identify the land.

It is said that this GAIL-BPCL joint venture has so far spent Rs 60 crore on the works
and another Rs 100 crore will have to be spent for the infrastructure work to complete.
CHAPTER IV

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND CONSEQUENCES

CHAPTER IV

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND CONSEQUENCES

Amidst all these infrastructure developmental activities that our state is undergoing, we
do have faced a lot of problems for past few years especially in the areas of Road
Construction taking place for widening of the state roads and the National Highway
construction that passes through the state.

The pollution due to continuous road work has resulted in many health issues with the
people residing in the close proximity. Apart from that the number of road accidents has
caused many deaths.

Road accidents statistics of December 2018 stated;

There were 343 Road accidents of which23were fatal among which 15 occurred
in North Goa and 9 occurred in south Goa.

Grievous accidents were 31, where 11 took place in North Goa and 0 in South
Goa.

76 minor accidents out of which 23 were in North Goa and 53 were in South Goa.

Total 25 people lost their lives.16 in North Goa and 9 in South Goa, among these
were 17 Riders, 2P/Riders,2 Driers,3 Pedestrian and 1 cyclist.

36 people were Grievously Injured North Goa -13 and South Goa -23 while 112
suffered minor injuries North Goa 43 and South Goa 69.

Total 8228 challans were issued by Transport Authorities in the month of

December 2018
A total of 27 people lost their lives in road fatalities across Goa in April 2019 as shared
by the Directorate of Transport on accidents. There were 11 Riders, 1 drier, 6
Pedestrians, 7 passengers, 1 cyclist and another commuter. Total 4726 challans were
issued by state transport authorities.

We all are aware about the potholes on the roads in the cities of Goa due to Roads
being dug up for laying optical fiber cable and sewerage pipelines. After the completion
of work the roads have not been bought to their original smooth forms again making it
accident prone and traffic generating. After efforts by the citizens to criticize the
government, agitations across the state and lots of mocking finally works are being
done to make the roads better.

However, we do have seen these days the continuous works of PWD across the state
for bettering the roads but still these are going to wash up if the climatic monsoons of
Goa hit the state. Another problem people face is while travelling from Panjim to Margao
at Corlim where you face hours of traffic due to construction of bridge and the Roads
below.

When there are developmental activities facing enormous problems are part and parcel
of it. However, it is the state that has everything going for it. Natural riches, Higher per
capita GDP in the country and an extraordinary record in key HDI measures. Goa is the
most urbanized state in the country with an urban population of 62.2 %,it is the second
most developed in literacy. Education and Health standards in Goa have traditionally
been high.
CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION
CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

Goa being hub to recent developmental activities specially the construction of Highways
and Roads connecting the villages to cities and urban areas we have seen many issues
from major to minor, accidents to loss of life, health issues to

❖ Disadvantages: -

Amidst these constructional activities the major problems that we face have been Health
death due to negligence.

related and often Environment degrading. Concrete Jungles have established across
the city leading to environmental issues, Number of pollutions, climatic changes like
extreme heat or rains etc. We have seen water clogging on the roads often after the
constructional activities. Previously, especially in Ponda there was easy flow of water
during rains but, with the flyover and other road alteration activities we see water
clogged across every junction.

Air pollution due to dust results in aggregated cardiovascular and respiratory illness and
people residing in the areas where road constructional activities took place suffered it,
especially people in age group about 50 and people prone to sinusitis.

Although the job has been over, the damage has been done and solutions have also
been provided. Right now everything is going on fine but still there are other places
where people must be facing these issues and government should take precautions
beforehand in future for such major projects and protect the welfare of its citizen and let
not the people suffer the damage physically or mentally.

Most Developmental activities have direct impact to environment. For any construction
purposes lots of infrastructure is required. Iron Ore, Cement, various machines, stones,
human labour etc. Digging the earth and depleting the soil layer is one of the results,
pollution is inevitable in this. Destruction of forest or cutting of trees in the areas where
constructional activities are done cannot be neglected either. Construction itself causes
various environmental issues the construction sector contributes to 23% of air pollution,
50% of the climatic change, 40% of drinking water pollution, and 50% of landfill wastes.
In separate research by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the construction
industry accounts for 40% of worldwide energy usage, with estimations that by 2030
emissions from commercial buildings will grow by 1.8%.

Following the above data, you can make out in past few years how much constructional
activities related to roads have had an impact on the environment not only in Goa but
across the world.
❖ Advantages: -

But we cannot deny the fact that due to this new development our city developed as a
whole from the age-old roads to new National Highway.

Problems do come in the way of any new project but as whole the advantages are a lot.

It prevented a lot of accidents and made good roas for the travelers, reduced traffic and
less tie of travel.

People did face a lot of isssues in the city of Pomda due to bad roads, many incidents of
accidents took place. But this new project gave a whole new view to the city of Ponda.

As said earlier, Ponda being n centre and the heart of Goa, it was travel route to every
other city. Now, with the National Highway passing through this city it now has a great
advantage for the travelers and for the residents of Goa as well.

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