TEAM HERALD
PORVORIM: Work on the Solid Waste Management (SWM) shed, which is being constructed on land leased out by the Goa Housing Board to Penha-da-Franca panchayat is yet to be completed, even though the monsoon is around the corner.
During the tenure of Visranti Desai as sarpanch of Penha-da-Franca, the panchayat had decided to construct a mini-garbage treatment plant at the site and the foundation stone for the project had been laid by Environment Minister Alina Saldanha on January 26, 2013.
When Dessai was ousted and Blanch D’Souza took over as sarpanch, the panchayat body reversed the decision and decided to construct a SWM shed in place of the treatment plant.
The foundation stone for the SWM shed was laid by Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte on February 22 and the shed was intended to segregate the garbage collected from different wards of the panchayat.
Work of this shed has been going on at snail’s pace and there are fears that if the work is not completed before the onset of monsoon, it would be impossible for the contractor engaged to carry out the segregation of garbage. Besides, the stench emanate from the decomposing garbage would also anger residents in the area.
When the matter was brought to the notice of the panchayat, Deputy Sarpanch Gajanan Halarnker said: “The panchayat has already directed the contractor to complete the work of the SWM shed before the monsoon.”
