Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa slammed the Village Panchayats of Merces, Chimbel and St Cruz over alleged mushrooming illegal scrap yards.
Advocate Aires Rodrigues, in his application before the High Court alleged that the three panchayats were repeatedly submitting to the court that streets within their jurisdiction are garbage free but the ground reality was in the contrary.
“Black spots are all over despite their solemn repeated undertakings. Illegal scrap yards have mushroomed in the low lying fields along the Ribandar-Merces road while dumping of construction of debris in these fields also continues unabated,” the petitioner said while annexing photographs to prove his claim before the court.
Rodrigues has sought for High Court’s interventions against the illegal operations of these scrap yards.
While two panchayats claimed they removed the scrap yards soon after the communication from the petitioner, the High Court has directed all the three village panchayats to file status and compliance reports on April 12. “Panchayats should perform their duties on their own, not after someone raises the issue,” the Bench observed.
The Court is hearing a contempt plea into a Public Interest Litigation regarding the garbage menace along these panchayats.
