MARGAO
The Shadow Council for Margao on Tuesday slammed the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) for its failure to take residents into confidence by launching projects.
SCM convenor Savio Coutinho was referring to MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar's plan to set up a transfer station cum waste sorting station in his neighbourhood, behind the Pratibha Society complex at Aquem Margao.
Revealing details of the same, Coutinho stated that the Chairperson, who had been facing a lot of criticism over the messy situation at the open space near St Joseph's Convent school, arbitrarily decided on his own to shift the station behind the Pratibha Society complex.
“This area is dotting with residential buildings and bungalows, and hence the residents were all agitated when dustbins and garbage trucks started coming into their neighbourhood, since Friday,” Coutinho said.
This new arrangement started spreading immense stench, with the leachate flowing down from the trucks, much to the dislike of the residents, he said.
“The locals did approach me for intervention, however, residents from his own complex where the Civic Chief resides, confronted him yesterday, and demanded that the bins and other materials should be immediately removed from there," Coutinho stated.
And the Chairperson had to eventually beat a hasty retreat, and order for the removal of the arrangements made behind the Pratibha Housing Society complex, thus bringing relief to the residents, Coutinho said.
“Time and again for the past several years, we have been appealing to the Council to involve the public in whatever they desire to do for systematic waste management, however the Council for obvious reasons doesn't wish to involve the public with a fear that many a shoddy deal will get exposed. The Council and more specifically the Chairperson will go out of his way to favour his favourite waste collection agency, even if their performance is poor," Coutinho charged.
He pointed out that so long as the Council compromises upon the effective waste collection system executed by the agency, the city is bound to have garbage-related issues across Margao.
The SCM had demanded streamlining of the waste collection and management system, as crores of rupees are spent every month, but the city is yet to see any credible changes on the waste management front.
