SPOTLIGHT ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
MARGAO
Who are these private garbage contractors, collecting waste from the commercial establishments? And, where do they dispose of the collected waste and whether they are all registered with the statutory authorities, complying with the do’s and don’ts in waste collection in force?
These and other questions have come to stare at the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) on the eve of World Environment Day as it’s not uncommon to find garbage collected by the so-called contractors find their way in the river Sal, along roadsides, burnt on the beach belt and in the water bodies in Salcete.
Local civic bodies and environmentalists cry foul over the mushrooming number of private garbage contractors, demanding the GSPCB bring all the private contractors collecting waste from the establishments under scanner to ensure the collected waste is disposed of scientifically.
Consider this: Sunday saw tonnes of saloon waste from Salcete coastal belt finding its way near a water body at Sao Jose de Areal. Inquiries by the Areal panchayat revealed the saloon had engaged a contractor to dispose of the waste. The owner eventually had paid the penalty, but the moot question remained whether the contractor was in any way under the record books of the GSPCB and other authorities.
Welcome to the Commercial capital, where the Margao Municipal Council is struggling to manage the 65-odd blackspots dotting across the city. Margao Municipal officials say the waste generated in the city is being collected by door-to-door waste collectors, adding that the waste found at the blackspots comes from the neighbouring villages, mostly from the commercial establishments, including hotels, restaurants and meat stalls.
“The GSPCB should work out a mechanism wherein they maintain a list of the garbage contractors in the towns and villages and find out whether the commercial establishments have engaged the private contractors, and if yes, how they dispose of the waste,” remarked a Municipal engineer.
Colva-based social activist and environmentalist, Judith Almeida, who has been fighting a sustained battle to protect the water bodies and maintain the beach clean, pointed out that she has in March last dashed off a letter to the Pollution Control Board, demanding to know the private contractors engaged in garbage collection and whether they treat and dispose of the collected waste systematically.
In her letter, Judith said the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum has been regularly bringing to the notice of the Board the grave situation of indiscriminate dumping of garbage and burning of the same causing severe air pollution and being dumped in water bodies causing water pollution.
“The hotels, restaurants, eateries and commercial establishments are left to fend for themselves. Reports received from the GSPCB show that the garbage both dry and wet waste, are being given to private waste collectors and no one knows who these agents are and if at all where this garbage is segregated,” she said.
Judith added: “One clear indication of this mismanagement is that large bags of garbage are found dumped in water bodies, fields and areas where people do not reside. This forum has received complaints via phone calls from villages of Benaulim, Quepem, Cuncolim that garbage from hotels from Salcete coast have been found dumped along their roadsides, etc.
The fertile fields and water bodies at Pedda-Benaulim have become a favourite waste dumping ground over the years, before Benaulim-based social activist Roque Fernandes and local youth decided to maintain a vigil.
