This is a positive sign when compared with many of the other municipalities including the Corporation of the City of Panaji which seemed to have wasted a golden opportunity in not fully availing the funds available under the Jawahar Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM)
The Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) should make a greater effort to streamline and systematize the garbage problem. The public too, are expected to cooperate in keeping Mapusa clean. The MMC should take on the task of creating awareness and educating the public on a war-footing. Like the ban on smoking enforced by the Government of Goa, MMC should have the ‘will’ to impose a similar ban and even a fine if necessary, on those creating garbage and spitting in public places.
One of the major areas where the MMC has failed miserably is on the condition of the roads in Mapusa. There is no road in Mapusa worth its name. Most of the roads had been ‘excavated’ to install underground electrical lines, create a sewage system and for various other reasons. On completing the works the contractors merely fill the pits and desert the roads without returning them to their original state. All the roads have huge pot holes and unusually high drainage chambers capable of damaging the under carriage of vehicles. It makes it difficult for two-wheelers and motorists to negotiate these obstacles and at the same time to be alert about the unruly and chaotic traffic system prevailing in the township.
The market complex must be made into a ‘No Vehicle Zone’ by converting it into a ‘promenade’ to enable people and senior citizens to shop freely without having to constantly fear vehicles coming from all directions.
The Central and State government generally provide ‘seed’ funds and grants to the municipalities for creating the initial infrastructure projects. Once these infrastructure projects are completed they are handed over to the concerned departments like municipalities, PWD, etc., for their general maintenance and upkeep.
The Deputy CM has indicated that the MMC has a ‘royal’ amount of Rs 6.5 crore in fixed deposit earned by way of taxes from the over 1000 shops under its jurisdiction. The MMC is still striving to cram many more shops beyond the holding capacity of the market complex. They are doing so in an erratic and unplanned manner, to further increase their revenue earnings. The municipal councilors should realize as per their tenets they are basically a ‘service agency’ and not a profit making corporation. The primary aim of new municipal councilors should be to undertake maintenance and upkeep of the internal roads and all the other infrastructure including drains, parks, gardens, etc. and not to merely accumulate funds in fixed deposits.
