At a function to open a 5.15km long elevated road that would bypass a congested stretch north of Panaji, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said he was “ashamed” of the delays around the expansion of the Mumbai-Goa Highway and had declared that he did not want to attend its inauguration when the project is finally completed.
“The Mumbai-Goa Highway has been hopelessly delayed, and the contractors have failed. From my point of view, what has happened is very unfortunate. “Now I’ve given up waiting for an auspicious time (to have it inaugurated).
My department has as many as seven world records, but now I wish my department will have the record for blacklisting and debarring the single largest number of contractors and suspension of officials in a single year,” Gadkari said at an event to inaugurate the 6-lane Porvorim flyover . Because i’m ashamed at the delays,” he said, i’ve decided that I will not go for the inauguration of the Mumbai-Goa highway.
“Yesterday I had a meeting and was told the highway was 93-94% complete… and in October, I’ll get off at the Mumbai airport and come to Goa by car to see the status of the completion,” he said.
