MARGAO
In a significant decision, the gram sabha of Carmona village panchayat on Sunday gave the go-ahead signal to the panchayat to levy Rs one per day as garbage fees on every household, a decision which promises to generate a revenue of around Rs 1.6 lakh per annum.
However, landlords who have leased their rooms on rent to migrants will have to shell out additional money for the collection and disposal of the waste generated by the tenants.
At the gram sabha chaired by newly elected Sarpanch Allwyn Jorge on Sunday, the garbage issue dominated the meeting with the panchayat placing before the members the proposal to levy a fee of Rs one per day on the 500 households located in the village.
The gram sabha, however, lamented over the discriminatory attitude of the state government in not including Carmona as a coastal village, saying the latter was denying funds under the garbage scheme for Carmona by excluding the village from the list of coastal villages. “Carmona has the Zalor beach, though it is presently under dispute. Carmona should have been categorized as a coastal village on the lines of the neighbouring villages of Cavelossim and Varca so that the panchayat could be eligible for additional grants,” Sarpanch Allwyn told the members, while promising to take up the issue with the government authorities, including Panchayat Minister, local MLA and Director of Panchayats, at the earliest.
The sarpanch pointed out that the total expenditure on garbage handling in 2018 worked out around Rs 1.21 lakh, while the panchayat was entitled for only Rs two lakh grant under this head.
During the discussion, the Sarpanch replied that the Panchayat has increased the frequency of garbage collection from fortnight to a weekly basis. He also announced that the panchayat has resolved to levy a fine of Rs 5,000 for dumping garbage in public places.
On the Gram Panchayat Development Plan, which has not been prepared by the panchayat, the sarpanch told the members that ward wise meetings will be held to prepare the plan before it is placed before the gram sabha for approval in April.
Another issue that was deliberated at the gram sabha was the issue of tenant verification of the migrants staying in the village. The sarpanch mulled issuing identity cards to the migrants staying in the village. He informed the members that the panchayat the Carmona playground will finally get a face lift with the GSIDC floating a tender to upgrade it.
