Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) to restore the Campal Parade Ground to its original status after shifting the dumped un-remediated and remediated waste to alternative authorised sites.
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At the hearing of a suo-motu writ petition, the CCP submitted before the Division Bench of Justice M S Sonak and Justice M S Jawalkar that un-remediated waste dumped at the parade ground will be shifted to alternate dumping site behind the Heera Petrol Pump while the remediated waste will be transported to cement factories in Karnataka in a phased manner.
Hereafter, the Bench clarified that primary responsibility for the restoration of the ground will be the domain of the CCP. The Court directed that the entire process should, as far as possible, be completed by November 2020 so that the parade ground could be used for Liberation Day on December 19, 2020.
During the hearing Advocate General Devidas Pangam and CCP Counsel A D Bhobe stated, that various stakeholders, including, in particular, the officials of the CCP and the Goa Waste Management Corporation held deliberations on this issue wherein the solution for shifting of the waste was arrived at.
“The CCP will immediately shift the unremediated waste lying at the site to the alternate site near Heera Petrol Pump within the jurisdictional limits of the Corporation. The alternate site is an authorised site for undertaking remediation and therefore the remediation can take place at this alternate site… The remediated waste at the site will also to be transported in a phased manner to the five cement factories in Karnataka,” the reply read as.
The government and the CCP further assured the Court that in the meanwhile appropriate measures, including covering of such remediated waste with tarpaulin, etc will be undertaken. In fact, they submitted that such steps have already been undertaken and the waste is suitably covered, so as not to occasion any serious nuisance or health hazard.
The Court thereafter mentioned about the restoration of the parade ground. “According to us, there is no difficulty for the present in accepting the proposal which has now come up from the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) and the CCP. However, we clarify that the primary responsibility with regard to restoration of the parade ground at Campal to its original status will be that of the CCP. This clarification is necessary because, in future, we will not appreciate a situation where the CCP attempts to pass the bucks to GWMC and vice versa,” the eight-page order said.
Apprehending the existing dumping site could pose potential threat for malaria, dengue, etc; the Court has directed the Health Department to file an affidavit, indicating whether any additional measures are required with regard to this waste at the parade ground, within two weeks.
In the last hearing on June 12, the High Court had rapped the CCP for converting the parade ground into a dumping ground despite having no authority to do so. It had also directed the CCP Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues to remain present in the Court in person on June 16.
To Rodrigues’ presence in the Court, the Bench observed, “We are sure that the Commissioner realises the seriousness of this matter and will henceforth take all necessary measures to ensure that the parade ground at Campal is not used as a site for dumping of garbage. Further personal presence of the Commissioner is dispensed with until further orders.”
