MARGAO: In just the first five months of this year, police stations in South Goa have booked 3,414 cases of disposal of garbage in public areas, a substantial jump when compared with the 1,988 cases booked across the district for the same offence from January to May, 2022.
The Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 1996, prohibits disposal of garbage in public places, drains and sewerage lines, but littering continues unabated in South Goa, particularly in the Salcete taluka, and mostly during nightfall when chances of nabbing litterbugs are low.
Salcete’s five police stations have booked a total of 518 cases against people for dumping garbage, with the highest (300) booked at Fatorda. This was followed by Cuncolim (134), Margao (49), Maina-Curtorim (33) and Colva (2), a senior police officer said.
Maina-Curtorim police inspector Ravi Dessai said his team is now undertaking a special drive to create awareness and deter people from littering.
The picture was slightly better two years ago, in 2021, when these five police stations had registered a total of 3,826 cases over the course of 12 months under the garbage control Act. Of these, the highest number of 1,085 cases was booked by the Colva police while 890 were booked by the Fatorda police.
When looked at as a whole, the entire South Goa district saw 5,808 cases of littering being registered during 2022; the highest of 1,591 being logged by the Curchorem police. This was followed by Ponda (897), Cuncolim (775) and Fatorda (542).
Police officers said that while cases are booked against persons found dumping garbage and against those selling their ware in plastic bags that are not permitted by the government, violations continue, as is evident from the number of black spots in the commercial capital of Margao itself.
Amarnath Dessai, a Margao-based lawyer, reiterated that the law mandates that solid waste be managed properly and puts the onus of every citizen to dispose of their garbage in a proper and lawful manner.
