Move comes amid mounting public anger over proliferating waste dumps
MAPUSA
In a candid acknowledgement of its failure to rein in Mapusa’s spiralling garbage mess, the Mapusa Municipal Council has decided to fully outsource door-to-door waste collection across all 20 wards, signalling a major shift in how the town’s waste will now be handled.
After outsourcing collection in Wards 11 to 20 a few months ago, the council has now approved handing over waste collection in the remaining 10 wards (1 to 10) to a private entity.
The move comes amid mounting public anger over proliferating garbage dumps and the municipality’s inability to manage waste after losing access to the Assagao plateau dump site.
At a recent council meeting, the body also cleared a proposal to outsource cleaning and sweeping of the municipal market – including fish, vegetable and flower sections – as well as housekeeping of municipal complexes. The combined contract is estimated at Rs 2.59 crore.
Ironically, the council is expanding outsourcing despite earlier problems with the contractor currently handling Wards 11 to 20, who has been served a show-cause notice by the Chief Officer following complaints from residents.
Chairperson Priya Mishal clarified that the outsourcing covers only labour
deployment.
“The contractor will bring and manage the labour force while the council will provide vehicles and bins to the contractor,” she said.
The proposal includes operation of a TPD sanitary incinerator, 5 TPD bio-methanation plants, the MRF shed at Cunchelim, and garden waste collection from all wards. Officials claim this integrated approach will significantly upgrade Mapusa’s waste-management ecosystem.
Councillors welcomed the decision, calling it a long-overdue fix to the “major chink” in the municipality’s armour. With waste piles rising daily, the council has been battered by criticism for its failure to keep the town clean.
But residents remain wary.
Local resident Mahesh Rane said the council’s experience in outsourced wards had been far from satisfactory.
“On the face of it, the move sounds good, but the taste of the pudding is in the eating. Let’s hope things will improve for the good of the town,” he said, stressing that any real solution must also involve citizens.
Businessman Pandurang Sawant echoed similar doubts, recalling past waste-management initiatives that fizzled out.
“We hope the council has struck a sweet spot and succeeds in resolving the long-pending problem of garbage dumps,” he said.
