Benaulim panchas play truant at VP meet
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 6
A meeting convened by the Benaulim Panchayat to discuss the issue of garbage and plastic collection on Saturday saw the presence of only the Sarpanch and secretary and the village activists, while other panch members were conspicuous by their absence.
A panch member, Mary Fernandes made her presence felt at the fag end of the meeting, even as Sarpanch Carmelina Fernandes expressed her helplessness in continuing with the meet in the absence of the panchayat members.
Convenor of Benaulim Villagers Action Committee, Seby Fernandes, while appreciating the panchayat’s initiative to solve this vexing issue, lamented that the panchayat has made a mockery of the villagers by convening a meeting and themselves remaining absent without any rhyme or reason.
The Sarpanch informed the meeting that the panchayat members themselves had taken a resolution on December 18 to convene a special meeting to discuss on garbage issue based on the advice of Panchayat Advocate Byron Rodrigues who had also attended the Panchayat Body meeting.
Activist Rudolf Barreto informed the Sarpanch that he has travelled all the way from his workplace at Verna, by taking special permission from his superiors, expecting a positive outcome from the meeting. He lamented that the panchayat had similarly ignored the pleas of the villagers in the past and had used every opportunity to belittle and insult the villagers, instead of working for the betterment of the village.
He informed the Sarpanch that the villagers are now immune to the insults and lies of the panchayat members and will not hesitate to go back even a few more times if that is going to benefit the village.
Requesting the Sarpanch to re-convened this meeting after discussing with her panchayat members, he said that personal egos should not come in the way for the development and betterment of the village and charged the panchayat of convening this meeting only as a formality just to impress the authorities and wondered whether this was a stunt to gain sympathy from the High Court, where a contempt petition is pending against the Sarpanch and her deputy.
Garbage activist, Roque Fernandes, who has caught around 35 garbage dumping instances, brought to the notice of the chair that the Panchayat has informed him that garbage dumping issues are to be brought to the notice of the respective ward members first who in turn will initiate filing of police complaints. He further informed that Deputy Sarpanch, Stanley Fernandes has refused to acknowledge the complaints and requested the Sarpanch to discuss this during the panchayat Body meetings.
A suggestion was made to ban use of plastic bags of less than 40 microns as an immediate measure. Sarpanch informed that a vermi-composting unit will be set up shortly on a trial basis and added that 25 mini-composting pots, sufficient for onehousehold each have been purchased by the Panchayat and will be distributed shortly. Rudolf Barreto suggested that the immediate need of the hour is to create awareness among the villagers on garbage segregation and its disposal.
