MARGAO
Sending a strong message to the shop owners and traders that the civic body will not tolerate dumping of waste on the roadside, Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes on Wednesday issued a notice to a shop owner to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 for illegal dumping of waste.
That’s not all. The Chief Officer in the notice has threatened to throw all the plastic waste near the shop of the owner in the event the fine of Rs 10,000 is not paid to the civic body.
The Chief Officer, however, said the shop owner, who was issued the notice to clear the waste dumped illegally, has claimed innocence and has contended that the waste does not belong to his establishment.
“The Council is examining the issue”, the Chief Officer said while issuing a warning that the culprit will not be spared.
In the notice, the CO said the act of dumping the waste outside the shop violates the provisions of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act 1986.
Meanwhile, the Chief Officer has said that the Civic body has identified the actual owner of the pick-up van responsible for dumping restaurant waste at Chandrawado-Fatorda last month.
He informed that after the original owner of the vehicle from Bardez claimed that he had already sold the van to a person from Margao, the owner was called for hearing wherein he has conceded that his vehicle was involved in the waste dumping activity. “The actual pick-up van owner has made a plea to reduce the fine amount of Rs 10,000,” Agnelo added.
