the goan I network
MARGAO
South Goa district Collector, Dr Tariq Thomas on Thursday said that he would soon hold meetings with the stakeholders on disposal of waste under the solid waste management rules, even as he maintained that memorandums have been dispatched to all designated officers in the district to conduct at least one raid in every quarter of the year against plastic bags below 40 micron size.
While taking part in a cleanliness drive in and around the Margao KTC bus stand on Thursday along with Additional Collectors, Agnelo Fernandes and Surendra Naik, Deputy Collectors Uday Prabhudesai and Roshel Fernandes and others, the district Collector, however, said that the objective of keeping the surroundings clean and litter-free will be achieved only with the cooperation and participation of the people.
When the media sought his attention to the Sonsodo imbroglio and the Margao Municipal Council’s failure to resolve the city’s burning waste disposal issue, Dr Thomas said, “In Goa, land is a major issue, besides the ‘Not In My Backyard’ syndrome. But, as the district Collector, we will meet the stakeholders under the Solid Waste Management Rules and resolve the issue.”
On the burning issue of plastic waste, the Collector said that since plastic bags below 40 micron size stands banned, his office has issued memorandums to various authorities to conduct periodic raids against the sale of such plastic bags. “I have already taken a review with the concerned designated officers on the number of plastic raids conducted in the last two years. We will do a
periodic review of the raids during our meetings,” Dr Thomas said.
Commenting on today’s cleanliness drive undertaken around the KTC bus stand, the district Collector said, “What we have carried out is a small gesture on
the cleanliness front. The change should come from the people.”
