Goa Chief Minster Pramod Sawant.
Credit: PTI Photo
Panaji: The Goa government on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to more than 100 contractors and said government engineers would be held responsible for any accident due to pothole on roads in the coastal state.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds the Public Works Department (PWD) portfolio, told reporters that roads in the state would be pothole-free by the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most prominent festivals of Goa, would be celebrated next month.
Sawant held a meeting with senior PWD officials to take stock of the road conditions in the state.
The CM said he has instructed senior PWD officials that if there is any accident due to pothole on a road, then the engineer concerned would be held responsible and action would be initiated against him/her.
Show-cause notices have been issued to engineers and more than 100 road contractors, he said.
The road contractors will have to fill the potholes on a priority basis and they are supposed to do so as per the "defect liability" clause, he said.
There would be no additional financial burden on the state government to fill these potholes, he said.
All the contractors will be asked to re-do the roads after October, without being paid extra money, the CM said.
"The system will have to be accountable" and that is why the state government is taking several stringent steps for the safety of people, he said.