TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: With Chief Secretary B Vijayan saying that the government will not compromise on the July 1 deadline to start the door-to-door waste collection scheme in the commercial capital, Margao Municipal Chairperson Gonzaco Rebello has convened a meeting of the city fathers on Monday to discuss the imbroglio and work out the modalities.
Making an announcement on Thursday, Gonzaco said that Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA)
consultant have been invited for the meeting to allay apprehensions in the minds of city fathers and explain the scheme in detail. “After I took over the municipal reins last week, I had promised to start the door-to-door waste collection scheme. Today, I have issued instructions to call a joint meeting with the councillors and GSUDA consultant to work out the modalities to start the scheme from July 1”, he said.
Gonzaco made it clear that neither the civic body nor the city fathers are opposed to the implementation of the door-to-door waste collection scheme in the city. “The city fathers had only aired their doubts and grievances since the scheme involves both men and machinery”, he said.
Sources said a section of city fathers are also veering to the view that the civic body should not levy any garbage collection fees on the households in the initial stages till the people get used to the scheme.
The civic body will also deliberate on the fixation of wage rate for the daily wage workers likely to be recruited for the door-to-door waste collection scheme. Though the municipal administration had mooted a proposal to fix the wage rate at Rs 350 per day, many an eyebrow has been raised in the corridors of the civic body given that the civic body presently pays a daily wage rate of Rs 300 per day to the existing daily wage workers.
Meanwhile, former MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho has said the Colmorod ward represented by his wife Pratima will wholeheartedly welcome the door to door waste collection scheme. He said they have already identified the number of households in the ward as well as the workers who can be engaged for the work.
