the goan I network
MARGAO
With the High Court barring open dumping of waste at Sonsodo and no let up in the mixed waste finding its way at the black spots from the neighbouring villages, Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai on Monday called for a holistic approach to the waste problem plaguing the State.
Demanding that the government come out with a White Paper on the waste scenario in the State, including the situation in the cities and villages, the MMC chairperson did not rule out the possibility of the civic body filing a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court to draw attention of the Judiciary to the problem faced by the municipality and the failure of the government to address the waste issue in the villages.
Her statement comes two days after alert residents of Ward No 22 successful intercepted three different persons hailing from the villages dumping waste at a black spot. “How can the government expect the Margao civic body to resolve the waste problem when waste from villages finds its way into the city almost everyday,” she said, while making a fervent plea to the government to work out a mechanism in the villages to address the issue.
Saying that no one is shouldering the responsibility on the waste coming into the city from the villages, the MMC chairperson pointed out that some of the hotels and establishments have engaged contractors to lift away their garbage, especially along the coastal belt, but no authority has bothered to find out where the contractors are disposing the collected waste.
Questioning the role of the panchayat bodies in addressing the waste problem in their respective villages, Babita said there may be one or two panchayats that has installed bio-digesters, but wondered whether a 70-kg digester can help treat the village waste. “Do you mean to say that a growing village generates only 70 kgs of wet waste,” she demanded to know, while saying the major chunk of the village waste finds its way at the black spots in the city.
When the attention of the MMC chairperson was drawn to the failure of the panchayat bodies to identify and acquire land for the purpose of waste segregation, the MMC chairperson said the local bodies will be liable for contempt of court.
On Sonsodo, the MMC chairperson said instead of politicising the Sonsodo issue, the stakeholders should sit and discuss the situation and work out a solution. “The government should immediately call a meeting of the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) of the stakeholders, including Fomento. I feel the payment matter can be resolved through negotiations,” she added.
