Team Herald
MARGAO: Taking a sudden U-turn, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) plans to collect garbage throughout the town without surveying the houses and commercial establishments to ascertain the quantity of garbage generated by them, as decided earlier.
There is a general understanding that collecting garbage without conducting the said survey, would benefit the non-assessed and irregular commercial establishments and households as their garbage would be collected free of cost.
Further, taking advantage of the weakness in the system, garbage collection personnel also could swindle money, which could run into lakhs of rupees.
It is pertinent that the MMC councillors, during the last council meeting, had contended that it would be injustice to tax payers, if the council collected garbage of non-assessed illegal settlements. Therefore, the council had decided to conduct a survey of the quantity of garbage generated by the houses and commercial establishments, before starting garbage collection throughout the town.
The municipal chairperson is also on record saying, “We cannot start the garbage collection and outsourcing full-fledged, as we have no idea what we are dealing with. The assessment is a must, because if the contractor demands a higher amount than he is entitled to, then the MMC will be in loss.”
In the backdrop of such a decision and contention, the move by the MMC to collected garbage from all households and commercial establishments has cast suspicion on the intentions of the municipal officials.
Further, as against its previous decision to club the house tax and garbage collection fees, the council would now collect them separately. Under this system, it is believed, the illegal commercial establishments and households would get municipal services for a cheap price.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Council has come down heavily on the MMC for starting garbage collection without conducting a survey.
Shadow Council member Savio Coutinho said, “As per information, some days back, when this matter came up for discussion with the MLAs, they are believed to have taken a stand that if the illegal premises are levied the charges, they would lose their vote banks. This is playing politics with waste at the cost of tax payers of Margao.”
