PANJIM: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) will meet on Thursday to decide on two crucial issues – taking over land occupied by the Military for their 2 Signal Training Centre (STC) and finalization of solid waste management (SWM) by-laws.
The ordinary meeting of the council, chaired by Mayor Shubham Chodankar will decide on an “amicable” solution on taking over land in the Panjim municipal market area occupied by the Military for its 2 STC, ensuring that the proposals give relief to both military and government. The meeting will also propose the future use of the land, where a multi-storey parking project is likely to come up.
Chodankar said that the issue would be discussed in the meeting and the resolution would be passed to take over the land, which would be later forwarded to the government for approval. The proposal would then be moved to the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for execution.
CCP has been fighting to take over the land measuring 4,969 sq mts to utilize it for a multi-storey car parking in a bid to decongest the city. The first resolution to take back the land was taken in 2004 by then Mayor Ashok Naik of the BJP.
It got some momentum when former Mayor Surendra Furtado left no stone unturned to move a fresh resolution and place it before the government and the Union Defence Minister in 2013 and in December 2014.
The CCP’s draft SWM by-laws 2015, which propose fines ranging from Rs 1000 to Rs 10,000, will be placed during the meeting for approval. The draft by-laws mention different categories of littering and penalties. “Once accepted by the council, the draft by-laws will be open for public objections and suggestions, expectedly at least for a month,” the Mayor said.
Furtado said he favours quick implementation of the by-laws to maintain cleanliness in the city. “The proposal had come up during my tenure. The by-laws should be implemented soon to get rid of the garbage menace and bring discipline among the people to maintain cleanliness. Once implemented, police should start acting on it and levy a fine on the violator,” he said.
Strike threat looms large over city
Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) Employees Union held a rally in Panjim on the 17th day of the strike notice demanding that their long-pending issues be fulfilled. The union has already served notice to the Mayor, CCP commissioner, Labour commissioner, chief minister, Urban Development minister and the Goa Police.
The workers blamed the CCP commissioner for not fulfilling their demands on wages and regularizing them in service despite completion of more than 10 years in service.
Union president Ajitsingh Rane, who was leading the rally, said that after completion of the 21 days notice, on June 8 the employees will go on a complete strike.
There are 333 employees working on daily wages with CCP for over a decade who participated in the rally. Workers said that they were being paid only Rs 220 per day whereas the government had agreed to pay them Rs 410 per day.
The workers, who are instrumental in collecting garbage in Panjim within CCP’s jurisdiction, had gone on strike in December last leaving the city stinking and dirty for days.
