Porvorim constituency VPs of Socorro, Penha-de-Franca and Salvador do Mundo have acquired land for waste plants; however, they still wait for finances from the State govt
Believe it or not, all three panchayats in Porvorim constituency have found it easier to locate and acquire land, which is scarce at Porvorim plateau, for the proposed garbage treatment plants (GTP) than to get the much-needed financial support from the State government to treat garbage.
An unhappy Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte has insisted that the State government should provide financial support to all three panchayats, “if it is really serious about tackling garbage in the State.”
The Socorro panchayat collects garbage from all 11 wards through door-to-door collection and had acquired 5,000 sq mtrs of land for a garbage treatment plant. The panchayat had even obtained an NOC from the Serula Comunidade to set up the GTP. However, the panchayat is waiting for financial assistance from the State government to go ahead with the project.
“The panchayat is all set to tackle garbage generated in the panchayat area. Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte offered the necessary assistance in land acquisition and to devise a system for door-to-door collection of garbage,” said Socorro Sarpanch Vaishali Satardekar.
“If the panchayat receives financial assistance from the State government, we can set up a small GTP,” Satardekar added.
The neighbouring panchayat of Penha-de-Franca also has door-to-door garbage collection in wards 7 to 11 and has proposed to start collection of garbage from wards 1 to 6 in October.
“The panchayat has already submitted a proposal to the State government to construct 25 vermi-composting pits, costing Rs 24 lakh, but the panchayat has still not received funds from the State government,” said Penha-de-Franca Sarpanch Blanch de Souza.
“The panchayat has already acquired 1,000 sq mtrs of land from the Goa Housing Board on lease, where segregation of garbage is being done,” informed de Souza.
The situation is no different at the Salvador do Mundo Panchayat, as it has started collecting garbage from wards 1, 2 and 3 and part of Ward 5 on the plateau and has also acquired 500 sq mtrs of land for segregation of garbage.
“The panchayat is financially poor and hence needs support from the government desperately to tackle the garbage issue,” said Sarpanch Rajesh Sawaiker.
Speaking to Herald, MLA Khaunte said he had convened meetings with members of all three panchayats in the third week of September and had highlighted the importance of collection and disposal of garbage on a regular basis.
“The panchayats of Penha-da-Franca and Salvador-do-Mundo could not get 3,000 sq mtrs of land and hence, they do not quality for the garbage scheme available under the Rural Garbage Act,” informed Khaunte.
“In order to collect and dispose garbage or to set up a GTP, the panchayats need good infrastructure like vehicles, vermi-composting pits, bailing machines and for this, substantial finance is required,” the MLA added.
“However, the panchayats have not received funds from the State government since the last 18 months, due to which the panchayats are unable to go ahead with these projects. If the government is really serious about tackling garbage in the State, then it should provide financial support to the panchayats,” added Khaunte.
Khaunte pointed out that garbage generated in Porvorim constituency contains as much as 33 per cent plastic.
“A few months ago, the panchas and I visited various shops in Porvorim constituency and we appealed to the shop owners not to make use of plastic bags to deliver goods. We are determined to make Porvorim plastic-free if due support is given by the State government to the panchayats,” said the Porvorim constituency MLA Rohan Khaunte.
