the goan I network
MARGAO
Goa Forward Party Chief Vijai Sardesai trained his guns at Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo for his failure to keep Goa clean and dengue raising its ugly head in his backyard Candolim, even as he demanded that the Minister immediately place before the people of Margao and Fatorda the government’s plan of action on the Sonsodo front.
A day after Goa Forward-backed Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai had advised Lobo to tackle prostitution and drugs in his home constituency Calangute, the Fatorda MLA on Saturday took on the Waste Management Minister, saying dengue had raised its ugly head in Candolim because of around 150 construction sites in the village. “There are these construction sites because the North Goa PDA, which was till recently headed by Lobo, had issued 150 permissions. The labourers defecate in the open and no one checks them. Construction activity and land business are both connected. This is a serious issue”, he said, taking a dig at Lobo for not ensuring Candolim dengue free.
Taking umbrage to Lobo’s observation that all appears not well on the waste management in the city, Sardesai said the Waste Management Minister should unveil the plan of action for Sonsodo before the people of Margao and Fatorda. “The Minister has come to Fatorda last week and spoke many things on waste. And, he has promised to come back again. We want him to come to Sonsodo, but we will also make him accountable for his promise”, he said.
Asserting that the Margao Municipal Council is not kept in the loop over the government’s plan for Sonsodo, Sardesai said, “I am told that only the Waste Management Minister and the MMC Chief Officer are discussing the issue. The government should know there’s an elected municipal body. The minister should immediately unveil the plan for Sonsodo”.
Pointing out that the government has not convened the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) meet on Sonsodo, the Fatorda MLA demanded that the Waste Management Minister should get the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to call a meeting to address the issue.
Taking objection to the delay by the Waste Management Corporation to accord technical sanction for the two containerised plants proposed by the MMC, Sardesai alleged there’s a deliberate delay on the part of the government to paint the civic body in a bad light.
“The containerised waste treatment plants are operating in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency. But the government here is neither giving the MMC the technical sanction nor rejecting the proposal,” he added.
