the goan I network
MARGAO
The Margao Municipal Council on Monday decided to seek legal opinion of experts before taking a call on the directives received from the Goa State Pollution Control Board to deposit compensation of Rs one crore for polluting the environment due to the Sonsodo fire.
At the special meeting chaired by MMC Chairperson Pooja Naik on Monday, the councillors have all decided that the civic body should approach the MLAs of Margao and Fatorda, Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai, respectively, to zero in on legal experts to help the civic body arrive at a decision on how to go about the GSPCB directives.
The city fathers, cutting across party lines, pointed out that the civic body should decide whether to approach the NGT or file a review petition before the GSPCB only after the legal opinion.
Given the urgency of the situation, as the GSPCB has given 15 day time to the civic body to deposit the Rs one crore compensation, CO Ajit Panchwadkar later told the media that he would send the MMC resolution to the MLAs concerned in a day or two.
At the special meeting, councillors criticised the GSPCB for directing the civic body to deposit the Rs one crore compensation, demanding to know whether the Board had carried out any detailed study before quantifying the amount. The city fathers were also highly critical of the GSPCB for the Board’s failure to reply to the MMC letter seeking a review of the direction, even as they said the Board had no courtesy to even file a reply to the MMC plea. Former Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai demanded that the GSPCB come out with details on how the Board had quantified the amount of Rs one crore.
Councillor Doris Texeira echoed similar sentiments, saying the GSPCB ought to have replied to the MMC letter on the criteria adopted by the Board while computing the compensation.
City Fathers also demanded to know why the civic body has not acted on the MMC resolution adopted around
six months ago to challenge the GSPCB directive before
the NGT.
