Team Herald
MARGAO: While the extraordinary gram sabha at Curtorim refused to adopt a resolution banning the use of plastic in the village, Cavelossim and Carmona gram sabha adopted it but with some conditions or questions.
The Block Development Officer had asked panchayats to convene an extraordinary gram sabha on 2nd June to adopt a resolution banning the use of plastic as directed by the National Green Tribunal and accordingly many villages in Salcete had gram sabha today.
The Curtorim gram sabha stoutly refused to adopt the resolution on grounds that the government has not put in place any mechanism to implement the use of plastic. Former panchayat member Charles Barretto pointed out that there is not even security provision made and wondered what will happen if panchayat members or staffers are assaulted when they try to implement the ban of plastic use.
Hence, the gram sabha resolved to write to the authorities to first ask what mechanism they have put in place to implement the ban of plastic use in the state.
At Cavelossim gram sabha, though the resolution to ban plastic was adopted, the villagers also asked the government to first ban all plastic manufacturing units so that the supply of plastic is curtailed and they asked that the Panchayat Director permit them to appoint a sanitary inspector to implement the ban.
The sarpanch said that a joint meeting of the Village Development Committee, Biodiversity Committee and Garbage Management Committee would be held shortly to prepare a road map to implement the ban on plastic use.
The Carmona gram sabha unanimously resolved to ban use of plastic in the village with villagers urging the Sarpanch to find out from the Goa Waste Management Committee and Goa State Pollution Control Board how to dispose diapers and napkins.
While the sarpanch assured to send letters to all commercial establishments about the ban on plastic the villagers also decided that the garbage management committee needs to be reorganised.
