Attention Joel. May take both the stories together along with MMC building photo. Thanks.
GARBAGE COLLECTION
MARGAO
After dilly-dallying for the last couple of days, which has resulted in throwing the door-to-door garbage collection haywire in some of the Municipal wards, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) on Tuesday finally issued an order to engage 91 daily wage labourers for the exercise, which is expected to incur a financial liability of Rs 12-13 lakh a month for the civic body.
Chief Officer Deepali Naik, who had earned the wrath of Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardessai and his Margao counterpart Digambar Kamat on Monday as garbage collection was left unattended in the four Municipal wards of 7, 8, 9 and 10, issued the order on Tuesday morning to recruit 91 workers on certain terms and conditions. “I had cleared the file on late Monday evening and the order has been issued on Tuesday morning. Things will return to normal in all the municipal wards in the next two days as the municipality has sought the help of a self help group to tide over the situation in the four affected municipal wards," Deepali said.
Sources in the know said the Chief Officer’s order comes into effect from April 1 with the order promising a daily wage of Rs 323 per labourer. The Chief Officer has given a deadline of seven days for the labourers to submit all details concerning their address, birth certificate, ID card proof, bank details, etc, before the municipality makes the payments.
The Goan understands that though the Chief Officer has issued an order to engage 91 daily wage workers on Tuesday, officials in the know said the municipality would require minimum 125 labourers considering the reserve manpower to carry out the work to tide over absenteeism.
MMC yet to include garbage fees with house tax
MARGAO: While the Margao Municipal Council has finally issued an order to engage daily wage labourers for the door-to-door waste collection, the civic body has been caught napping in including garbage collection fees with house tax.
Inquiries by The Goan revealed that though the civic body repeatedly resolved to include the garbage fees with the house tax, the system is yet to fall in place till date. Though a couple of municipalities including Ponda has been collecting garbage fees along with the house tax, the MMC has still not put the system in place despite the fact that the new financial year has begun.
Sources in the know said that though it will not take much time for the NIC officials to put the system in place, it could not be gathered what has caused the delay on the part of the civic body to include the garbage fees with house tax.
One reason cited by the officials for the delay is that the municipality will have to enter data of the business establishments since the garbage fees differ from establishment to establishment.
Officials in the know, however, said that the municipality can make a beginning with the households since the civic body has fixed a flat rate of Rs 50 per month for residential premises.
Chief Officer Deepali Naik, however, said the civic body has called the NIC officials for a meeting with the municipal officials to work out a system wherein both the residential households and the business owners pay their garbage fees along with the house tax.
