It’s a shame for authorities that the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court took suo motto cognizance of the rot that Goa is facing on account of garbage. And it’s an even bigger shame that the bench has brought forth the utter disregard for laws, carelessness, irresponsibility and the lack of will to tackle garbage.
The following observation sums it all. “The garbage disposal scene has become all the more serious and practically unmanageable in the State, particularly so over the last couple of years. The ubiquitous black spots have been appearing everywhere; road sides of highways and public roads are littered with garbage. The phenomenon of ‘not in my backyard’ is on full show throughout the State and there is no one accountable for this sorry mess. With these developments, if at all there was a time for the Court to intervene in all seriousness and in true public interest for urgent and expeditious measures for waste disposal, it is now”.
While politicos continue to charm the electorate with the oft-repeated Goem, Goemkar, Goemkarponn slogan, the State continues to decompose under mounting piles of garbage strewn across every nook and corner. The High Court has not only hit the nail on the head but has taken the onus on itself to highlight the blurred vision of authorities in handling the long standing issue. It has gone to the extent of even broadly listing out areas of focus -- monitoring of scheme, fixing responsibility and penal action.
Local bodies have been rapped for showing complete lack of responsibility on segregation of waste. They are primarily responsible for sending segregated waste for treatment, whether it is the Saligao treatment plant or Sonsodo. Till now, garbage has been sent with an assorted mix - wet and dry garbage with metal, plastic and even glass pieces all in one package. Last year, the then chief minister Manohar Parrikar mentioned on the floor of the August house that 25 puppies and 35 kittens were rescued from the garbage packages that were sent to the Saligao treatment plant.
If Margao Municipal Council could work out a sentinel scheme to keep a check on random garbage dumping, why did it fail on segregated waste? Was it carelessness again, or a ‘not our job’ attitude? If segregation doesn’t happen at source, it puts a tremendous strain on the entire treatment process. Responsibilities have been fixed on local bodies but that doesn’t absolve every Goemkar. This is a collective responsibility which begins at every single household.
The local bodies will have to rework their garbage plans. Additional manpower will have to be roped in. Is the Goemkar up for the job? Or do we have to rope in migrants to keep our Goem clean? This will be another test of our Goemkarponn. In congested areas like Merces, local bodies will face a big challenge to identify multiple land sites for collection. ‘Not in my backyard’ has been the common refrain from Goans when it comes to garbage. Area-wise garbage collection sites will have to be identified. Thirdly, local bodies will have to equip themselves with not only man, but machinery as well -- from garbage bins to collection vehicles.
The High Court rap should be an eye-opener for not only the local bodies but every niz Goemkar as well.
