the goan I network
Porvorim
Sangolda gram sabha witnessed heated arguments over garbage and bad roads.
W Pereira sought to know the charges being paid to the contractor towards collection of garbage and the fee being charged to the residents.
Sarpanch Avinash Naik replied that since the old contractor was not doing his work satisfactorily, the panchayat had appointed a new contractor and was paying him Rs 70,000/month. “Panchayat is charging Rs 180/year to every household as garbage fees,” said Naik.
Hearing this the villagers became furious and demanded to know why the new contractor was being paid double when the old one was paid only Rs 35,000 for the same work.
Also, when the panchayat was not collecting garbage on door-to-door basis, then what is the reason for the fees, they questioned.
Naik mentioned that labour charges have gone up and if anybody can get a contractor at lesser amount then panchayat is ready to sign an agreement. With regards to fees, Naik stated that since the amount is meagre, there should be no objection from the villagers.
“The panchayat has moved a file to DoP seeking permission for door to door collection and once it is approved, we will start the work,” said Naik.
When villagers mentioned that roads in Sangolda had become pathetic, Naik stated that the matter was taken up with the PWD who has assured repairs and hotmixing of roads in Jan-February 19. “Meanwhile, PWD has started filling up potholes with stones and mud,” said Naik.
The sarpanch also informed that a special meet will be convened to discuss developmental works and Saligao MLA will be requested to attend.
