MARGAO
With a host of issues concerning solid waste management taking centrestage at the Council meeting on Wednesday, the Margao Municipal Council on Wednesday resolved to convene a special meeting to deliberate and discuss on the entire gamut of issues concerning garbage management.
Wednesday's meeting also witnessed an uproar over what the City Fathers called as discrimination in the payment of wages for daily wage workers engaged in the door-to-door collection of waste.
The chairperson agreed to call for a special meeting since councillor after councillor raised issues concerning waste and garbage collection and disposal. Councillors also claimed that waste from the neighbouring panchayats continues to find its way in the Municipal bins, aggravating the situation.
Absence of basic infrastructure, including bare minimum garbage compactors and trucks to transport waste also figured at the meeting, even though Chairperson Babita announced that the Council would soon go for purchase of two brand new compactors, four trucks, and a bailing machine. She further added that GSUDA has promised to supply around 300-400 new garbage bins for Margao.
Councillors questioned the Chairperson over her decision to concentrate on collecting segregated waste only from the six wards falling in Fatorda constituency. Even as she promised that the exercise will be extended to all wards, councillors maintained that unsegregated waste collection is still a far cry for want of awareness by the civic body.
Babita, however, exuded confidence that the situation will improve after the civic body engage a private player to take awareness in all the municipal wards.
On the discrimination on the payment of wages, almost all the City Fathers were on their feet to protest against an order issued by the Chief Officer to engage workers for door-to-door waste collection on a daily wage of Rs 323. The councillors cried foul as the Council has already started paying a daily wage of Rs 500 for the 45 workers supplied by Ponda-based Bapu Environmental Services.
An agitated Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai sympathised with the City Fathers as she sought an explanation from Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes over the serious lapse, demanding to know why the Council's decision to pay a flat rate of Rs 500 to all categories of workers engaged in solid waste are not paid the same wage.
Taken aback by the uproar, the Chief Officer called the Accounts and Taxation Officer Abay Rane, who maintained that he has forwarded the proposal to pay Rs 500 wage to all the workers engaged in daily wage. After reprimanding the ATO, the Chairperson told the Chief Officer to amend the order by Thursday and ensure all workers engaged in solid waste manage receive Rs 500 as daily wage.
The meeting also resolved to deposit 50 per cent of the money in the High Court in the arbitration case to avoid attachment of Municipal property. The Council resolved to invite the Municipal garden contractor to explore the possibility of getting iron grills from the garden after negotiations.
It was also resolved to secure the properties of the Municipality, including the property adjoining the Municipal garden.
