Team Herald
CANACONA: The Canacona municipal area is currently suffering from an epidemic rise of illegal scrap yards, leaving the effectiveness of the ‘Swachh Bharat, Nital Goem’ campaign under scrutiny by locals.
These illegal scrap yards, situated at Char-Rasta, Mastimol, Pansule and Patnem, are functioning without the necessary No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the Goa State Pollution Control Board, despite objections from NGOs and local residents.
Former Chairperson Suchna Gaonkar said, “An NOC from the Goa State Pollution Control Board is required to run a scrapyard. However, the scrapyards in Canacona are operated only with the permission of the landowners, and no government authorisation.”
Not only are the scrapyards causing environmental pollution, but citizens of Canacona have also claimed that the municipality is not earning anything from them in the form of taxes. In addition, they are an eyesore for tourists, which could harm the local economy.
While the municipality spends lakhs of rupees to collect garbage and promote the ‘Swachh Bharat’ programme in Canacona, locals wonder who really benefits from these illegal scrapyards.
“There are seven panchayats in Canacona and after erecting scrapyards in municipal areas, they’re starting to do the same in panchayats as well. This indicates that the problem could continue to spread if left unchecked,” pointed out Chandrakant Gaonkar, a former member of the Sreesthal panchayat.
Stanley Gracias, former councillor from Chaudi ward, urged the Municipal Chairperson to crackdown on the scrapyards.
“The scrapyards are turning out to be an eyesore for tourists as well as locals. The Chairperson needs to launch a survey and take some hard decisions,” he said.
