Plastic waste left uncollected after the fair at old market at Margao
DMA says inaction is contrary to rules and Act
GGF threatens to approach court over blocked footpaths during fair
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) has come under the scanner of the Director of Municipal Administration, Elvis Gomes, on the tons of plastic waste left behind by the weeklong fair at the Old market area.
Taking cognisance of a Herald report vis-a-vis the plastic waste strewn around the old market, the DMA has issued a notice asking the MMC to show cause within 10 days why the Council should not be prohibited from granting licenses for fairs in the future.
The notice issued under section 293 of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 has asked the MMC to further show cause why the grant of license for the fair should not be suspended for the failure of the civic body to clear the plastic waste soon after the conclusion of the fair on Sunday.
It was pointed in the notice that the act of omission by the civic body is a pointer that the plastic menace was against public interest. Gomes asserted that the delay in clearing the plastic waste is a violation of the provision of the Solid Waste anagement rules and the provisions of the Goa Non-Biodegradable Act.
The DMA’s show cause notice assume significance and comes against the backdrop of the outcry by the residents of Old market over the plastic waste nuisance left behind by the weeklong fair.
Incidentally, more trouble is brewing for the MMC on the week-long fair. The Green Goa Foundation has served a notice on the Margao Municipal Chief Officer threatening to file a contempt petition in the High Court for violating the court’s order to keep the Old market footpaths clear during the duration of the fair.
GGF Chairman Raison Almeida told the media that the NGO would file the petition as it has in its possession visual proof suggesting that the Municipality turned a blind eye to the encroachments on the footpaths during the Old market fair.
GSPCB collects samples of waste released in Colva field
MARGAO: A team of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) on Monday descended at Colva to verify claims by local residents that a hotel has released sewage waste in a field.
The GSPCB inspection assumes significance given that unscrupulous hotels in the tourist village are often accused of discharging sewage waste in the open fields after the onset of monsoon.
When contacted, GSPCB Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said the team inspected the hotel’s sewage treatment plant and has collected samples to ascertain whether the plant has been in running condition or not.
Saying that the team found accumulation of waste water behind the hotel, which was emanating a foul odour, the GSPCB chief said the water samples are being tested to ascertain its content.
“Our team has also found burnt waste inside the premises of the hotel. We are verifying the reports,” he said.
