PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has reprimanded the authorities for failing to resolve garbage menace in Merces.
“How much monitoring should we do? Why the issue comes up again and again? We appreciate and also do not appreciate (efforts by the authorities) because you’ll clear the debris when we (court) give directions, else it is not done,” the division bench of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Dama Seshadri Naidu made an oral observation while hearing plea of Advocate Aires Rodrigues on the garbage nuisance in Merces.
The bench, thereafter, once again directed the Merces Panchayat to immediately clear all the garbage and debris dumped alongside the roads in its jurisdiction. The direction came after Rodrigues submitted photographs to the Court showing that despite various directions issued by the Court in respect to garbage and construction debris strewn all over Merces and Chimbel, the panchayat failed to act.
During the hearing on Thursday, Rodrigues agreed to accompany panchayat secretary to show the black spots in the village.
In 2017, Rodrigues had filed a contempt petition which is pending before the High Court over inaction of the authorities to the continued dumping of debris and garbage along the roads. He pointed out that government on June 26, 2008 had undertaken to designate separate places for safe disposal of building debris.
