TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The Goa government’s plan to impose fines on persons found littering in Cansaulim and Panjim ~ areas where the dry waste collection – the drive will come into force two weeks from now and not on November 15 as was earlier envisaged.
Speaking to Herald, Minister for Environment and Forests Alina Saldanha said that the plan is definitely on but given that a contractor is yet to be finalized and that two senior officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board including its Member Secretary Levinson Martins are away on an official trip to Europe, implementation will take two weeks.
“The plan is definitely on. It should take another two weeks to be up and running. The contractor is also yet to be appointed,” Saldanha said.
The government had earlier decreed that under the Goa Biodegradable Control Act, 1966 anybody found littering in Panjim city or Cansaulim village from November 15 to December 15 will be fined between Rs 1,000 and 5,000. Panjim and Cansaulim have been identified for a pilot project for collection of dry waste.
If the implementation is successful the plan will be extended to other areas of the state. The main officers behind the implementation of the plan are those of the state pollution control board as well as the village panchayat of Cansaulim and the Corporation of the City of Panjim.
