Now, mayor says not entire, only part Smart City works to be ready by Mar | Goa News – Times of India

Panaji: Panaji mayor Rohit Monserrate on Monday retracted his statement that Smart City works will be completed by March 31, 2023.
Only “certain aspects” of the ongoing projects will be completed, he said.
Monserrate told reporters that all Smart City barricades will display the number of Smart City officials as well the deadline for the completion of works.
“I believe everybody in Panaji should know who to get in touch with if there’s an issue with the contractors. We will also put up the numbers of all contractors and company owners on the boards. It is high time that contractors speed up their work.”

“We are planning to have meetings at least twice a week. At the start of the week, we will look at all the work to be completed by Friday. Then we will hold a review meeting on Friday to assess the progress. If there’s any shortfall, we will give them the weekend to complete it,” he said.
“I’m also a voter from Panaji and I’m also getting irritated with the pace of work. We are now hoping that with regular feedback, contractors will perform better,” he said.
When asked about the large number of tourists visiting the state capital and festivals like Serendipity that are set to take place, Monserrate said the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) is holding separate meetings with the traffic police. “Traffic police will also be part of all our regular meetings with Smart City,” he said. When pressed about the traffic situation, he said, “You go to any other city, say Mumbai. There the metro work has been going on for five years. Now everyone understands. In Panaji, the sewage and water lines date to the 1960s. What do you want us to do? Not do any of the work?”
Meanwhile, serpentine queues of vendors seeking permission to set up stalls at the Panaji feast fair were seen at the CCP building on Monday. Few lessons have been learned by the corporation, and such was the chaos that police had to be brought in to control the situation.
Monserrate said the fair will take place along the promenade for five days beginning on December 14.