Team Herald
MARGAO: Asserting that Goa needs to be garbage-free, the Minister for Public Works Department (PWD) Nilesh Cabral blamed the past MLAs for failing to find solutions to the issue of garbage hotspots in Margao and Fatorda. The Minister also warned that the government would start issuing fines to people littering the street and dumping waste on the roadside. “I am here to find the solution. All of Goa should be garbage free, including Margao and Fatorda, besides all the areas of Salcete taluka. Past MLAs have failed and they have not found the solutions with regard to the issue of garbage in Margao and Fatorda,” he said. “Being a responsible minister, all the support will be given to the concerned MLAs to find the solution to Margao-Fatorda’s garbage menace. Garbage is a major problem all over Goa, We also need to find a mechanism to resolve the issue at the panchayat level. The newly elected panchayat bodies need to put their entire focus on finding a solution to the garbage Problem,” said the PWD Minister.
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He said that he will also deliberate on the issue with the Minister for Waste Management Atanasio Babush Monserrate and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to ensure that it is dealt with seriousness.
“We have already educated the people about the correct disposal of garbage, but now we need to enforce the laws strictly. People are still littering the streets and dumping waste on the roadside, despite collecting their garbage from door to door. They need to be fined. Enforcement will be done properly and we will work out a plan on how to go about it,” he said. “I’m sorry to say that the past MLA of this constituency who was in power here for a long time could not find a solution to the garbage problem. But at the same time blaming somebody is not the solution,” Cabral remarked. “I have found a solution in my constituency. Being active members of the Goa legislative Assembly, we have to take a stand and not shy away from the problem. We should not bother about who will be MLA for the next five years, but what can be done in these five years of tenure,” he added.
He urged residents to segregate their waste and asked them not to dump or burn garbage in the open.
