the goan I network
MARGAO
Around 15 months after Margao Municipal Chief Officer Sidhivinayak Naik stripped powers of the municipal sanitation officers from handling the garbage issue, MMC Chairperson Babita Prabhudedsai on Wednesday issued directions to get the two sanitary inspections, Viraj Arabekar and Sanjay Saglekar to oversee the city’s waste management.
The MMC chairperson even went to the extent of telling civic officials she would go ahead with the two sanitary inspections to handle the city’s waste management even if the Chief Officer fails to sign the order.
Her logic is simple “ the duo has rich experience in handling the waste imbroglio and the CO’s move to entrust the waste handling work to municipal engineers has failed to evoke the desired result on the ground.
It was in the month of August 2018 that Naik had shunted sanitary inspector Arabekar to Sonsodo and had divested the charge of Sanglekar from looking after garbage before handing over the entire waste management to the municipal technical section.
“I am confident that Arabekar and his co-inspector Sanglekar will do a much better job in handling the garbage scenario in the city,” she told civic officials.
While issuing instructions to the officials to draft an order authorizing the two sanitary inspections to handle the waste management, Babita made it clear that even if the Chief Officer does not agree with her decision, she would go ahead with her decision.
In fact, the chairperson has made it clear that while Arabekar will look after the waste management in the 11 wards of Fatorda, the remaining wards from ward No 12-25 will come under the supervision of Sanglekar.
Given that the MMC waste management was under the control of engineer Agostinho Mesquita for the last one year, the Chairperson ordered that Mesquita will henceforth coordinate all issues between the civic body and Goa Waste Management Corporation pertaining to Sonsodo.
The rejig comes against the backdrop of the crisis-like situation plaguing the commercial capital with the civic body struggling to keep the city clean.
