TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council meeting on Monday witnessed uproarious scenes over the door-to-door waste collection project, with the ruling and opposition group trading charges and counter charges over its implementation.
The meeting also decided to levy garbage collection fees on the households beginning from October, even as Chief Officer Narayan Sawant announced that the civic body would charge garbage collection fees from this month.
The meeting turned stormy from the word go over the door-to-door waste collection programme. Opposition Councillor Avinash Shirodkar set the ball rolling by demanding to know the criteria adopted in constituting the Solid Waste Management Cell. He demanded the immediate dissolution of the cell and reconstitution of the same by taking a nod from the civic body. Even as Chairperson Gonzaco Rebello sought to clarify that the cell was constituted as per the guidelines of the DMA, Councillor Sadanand Naik said the chairperson should have placed the proposal for a council nod.
Sadanand Naik and Pratima Coutinho were seen engaged in a verbal duel over the issue with Pratima urging the opposition not to politicise the garbage and cleanliness issue. The discussions threatened to go ballistic with Sadanand literally aiming a water bottle at Pratima, before the chairperson intervened to cool down frayed tempers.
Opposition Councillors Tito Cardozo, Sadanand Naik and Damu Shirodkar told the chairperson that they are not opposed to the project, but lamented that they were not taken into confidence by the civic body.
After the meeting, Gonzaco told the media that the demand to disband and reconstitute the solid waste management cell was not considered by the council.
