The dream of a bin free Cuncolim has been shattered due to the negligence and lethargic attitude of the Cuncolim Municipal Council (CMC). About seven years back, the CMC promised a bin free town with the launch of the garbage treatment plant. However, the same plant has been left to rust for a year now. Gabage, in the town has now become a menace.
The machinery at the plant is due for repairs but the lackadaisical attitude of the CMC has created a menace. The council began the door to door collection six years ago with much fanfare and also distributed free bins to every house and to vendors, shopkeepers and hoteliers. The council even removed dustbins from the town in order to keep it bin-free. However, now, everything is topsy-turvy. The plant is not functioning and no one has bothered to repair it.
Garbage is once again dumped by the road side and near the market area. Despite the door to door collection, garbage is still being dumped by the road which destroys the image of the historical town. The council is collecting the garbage free of cost from vendors and hoteliers as many are refusing to pay garbage fees. The same people throw their garbage in the open and also burn dry garbage at night.
The lethargic attitude of the council has failed to punish these offenders. Segregation of garbage at source has not materialized either.
Some law abiding citizens painstakingly segregate their garbage at source, but this is of no use as collectors eventually mix wet and dry garbage. The council is finding it difficult to continue with the process.
The present council has overruled the decision of the previous council to put a garbage tax on every household and it even refused to collect garbage fees in the guise of gaining the support of the people.
However, without finance, it is difficult to maintain a treatment plant and it’s also impossible to continue with door to door collection. Meanwhile the government has told the council that it needs to be self-sustained. But the question is, how will the council be self-sustained without funds?
The CMC was only the second council in the state to adopt a successful door to door collection and had their own treatment plant, but since then, the CMC has lost that fame. The CMC received a notice from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) for not treating garbage in a scientific way. The board even blacklisted the council for negligence. The status of the landfill site is also in the doldrums. The CMC spent lakhs to construct the landfill site but it has been unutilized.
The infighting between the ruling group and the officers has worsened matters. The repair work of the plant remained pending due to this. There was a suggestion in the last bimonthly meeting to revert to the composting system but it would be taking a step in the backward direction. The council must spend some funds to repair the treatment plant and make it functional. Locals will not mind paying garbage tax or fees if they get better facilities or if their localities remain garbage free.
