TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Margao Municipal Council has resolved to start door-to-door waste collection from January 2014 with government funding at a whopping cost of Rs 7 crore.
Questions, however, have been raised in the corridors of the civic body whether door-to-door collection and waste segregation at source project is really required when Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s mixed waste plant for Salcete is expected to come up at a cost of Rs 100 crore in the next few months.
When this question was posed to Gaurav Pokle, the consultant appointed by Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA), he merely said that door-to-door waste collection is mandated under the MSW rules and no civic body can escape its implementation. Pokle offered no comments when asked whether the door-to-door waste collection by the civic body would be rendered redundant once the chief minister’s mixed waste plant becomes a reality.
Margao Municipal Chief Officer Deepali Naik said the civic body has taken up the door-to-door waste collection based on directions from the Director of Municipal Administration. “MSW rules mandate the civic body to go for door-to-door waste segregation and collection. We are going ahead with the concept with the next few days by carrying out awareness in the town. The concept will be implemented in the city from January 1, 2014”, she said.
Replying to a question, she said the Margao civic body would require around 90,000 bins considering the city plays host to 45,000 households. “Tender for bins will not be floated by the civic body, but by GSUDA,” Deepali said, adding that awareness on door-to-door waste collection will commence from October itself.
The consultant on Friday made a presentation to the Margao City Fathers as per the instructions of the Director of Municipal Administrator. Distribution of the dust bins to the households will take place after the awareness programme.
Incidentally, the consultant has mooted levying of waste collection fees on the households @ one rupee per day to recover the investment.
