AGASAIM: The Agasaim Village Panchayat gram sabha prominently took up the issue of garbage dumped by the roadside and in water bodies, with some members calling for a nominal fee to be charged for weekly garbage collection, instead of waiving it completely.
All the members congratulated Sarpanch Emie Fernandes and panchas for stopping the garbage collection tax in the village and reducing the commercial tax from Rs 3,000 to Rs 1,500.
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Member Quino Gurjao, however pointed out that if the annual garbage collection tax of a mere Rs 500 was stopped, then it could hamper the generation of funds for the panchayat.
Mifa Gomes said that garbage collection on a weekly basis was a good initiative to keep the village clean, and also requested that the panchayat members investigate the rampant dumping of waste in water bodies.
Victor Gracias, another member of the gram sabha, said that on account of the works carried out by Dilip Buildcon Corporation (DBL) on the bypass road, many cross drains have been blocked.
“Before the DBL completes their construction work and leaves, the panchayat should get the obstructions in the drains removed and rectify any other adverse changes,” he said.
Gracias also mentioned that for the widening of the bypass road, the construction firm has demarcated land on the eastern and western sides of the road.
“There is however encroachment on more land and if a check is delayed, then the fertile lands of the people could go in for a big loss,” he said.
On the matter of the selection of members for various panels under the Village Development Committee (VDC), Sarpanch Emie said that panch members had assisted in nominating members for the same; to which gram sabha member Shirish Lawande insisted that the selection be made by the gram sabha, or it would be considered illegal.
Finally, various members were selected for the child development committee, garbage committee and education committee and others.
Quino was unanimously elected as the Convenor of the committees, with the Sarpanch as chairperson.
Another member, Wilson Gonsalves brought to the notice of the panchayat that a proposal for a new project was underway in the northern part of Agasaim and requested the local body to keep tabs on the acquisition of land for the same.
Sarpanch Emie said that they were unaware of the new project, but assured that they would look into the matter.
The members also discussed the issue of sewage finding its way into the fertile fields, hampering the cultivation of paddy and vegetables. The last gram sabha was held on August 25, 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in these meetings taking a backseat over the past two years.
