The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) has renewed its campaign against unauthorised garbage disposal, stepping up night-time surveillance to curb dumping at identified black spots across the town. Over the past week, municipal teams have caught several offenders in the act, many of them allegedly connected to private waste collection services handling garbage from hospitality units in neighbouring villages.
Those caught were fined and, in several cases, asked to clear the waste themselves as part of a stricter deterrent policy now being enforced by the civic body. Elaborating further, MMC Municipal engineer Dipak Faldessai said the rise in such violations had left the council with no option but to adopt tougher measures. “The escalation in illegal dumping forced us to take strict action against those who disregard proper waste management protocols,” he explained. MMC Chairperson Damodar Shirodkar clarified that the intention behind the drive was not to boost municipal revenues but to build awareness among citizens and businesses that open dumping will not be tolerated.
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“The motive of the drive is not to generate revenue but to create awareness that open waste dumping is unacceptable and will lead to penalties,” he said. Alongside enforcement, MMC has urged residents to approach the council with their waste disposal concerns rather than abandoning waste in public places. Officials also confirmed that technology will soon be brought in to strengthen the initiative. A tender has been floated to install solar-powered 4G CCTV cameras at 25 locations that have been repeatedly identified as black spots for garbage dumping. The council hopes that a combination of fines, public accountability, and constant monitoring will help put an end to the persistent problem of waste accumulating on roadsides and in residential neighbourhoods.
