SANTOSH NAIK
PONDA
Many gram sabhas in Goa witness chaos and sarpanchas and panchas are grilled several times over the menace of scrapyards in panchayat areas which creates nuisance to locals. Ponda taluka is no exception to this menace. The entire taluka is dotted with hundreds of scrapyards in villages and many times the issue of legal and illegal scrapyards dominated proceedings at local gram sabha with locals demanding to free the villages of this menace.
Many gram sabhas have passed unanimous resolutions that NOCs issued to scrapyards should be withdrawn by panchayats. Panchayats routinely assure them that NOCs of scrapyards violating norms will be revoked after Inspection. But still hundreds of scrapyards continue to exist in Ponda despite flouting safety norms.
People inform that these illegal scrapyards construct compound walls of three to four metres to hide their illegalities which most of time indulge in pollution.
Villagers oppose these scrapyards alleging their activities create trouble and pollution, including sound pollution. They recounted that leachate flows in water bodies threatening their well water and the villages bear an ugly look due to the scrap business. Many times the panchayat takes action and clears some scrap yards. But majority of the scrapyard remain. Even if these are removed, they show up in other places. Hence villagers say that a permanent solution should be found.
In Ponda town and surrounding village panchayats such as Kavlem, Dhavli, Curti, Bethora and Bhoma people often blames the owner and panchayats for not removing the existing scrapyards.
On the other side the scrap generated in every towns or villages due to increasing industrial and business activities is dumped in open places, and by bypass roads and highways. Though nobody likes scrapyards in their vicinity the existing scrapyards at least prevent garbage and scrap material from littering and from becoming a public nuisance.
The Goa Government had earlier assured of a solution to the menace of scrapyards by saying that scrapyard owners would be provided space at industrial estates or at Isolated place but so far no provision has been made in this regard. Hence scrapyard owners continue to operate from their present places of operation, facing ire of the people.
Bethora Sarpanch whose panchayat acted recently against three major scrapyards said that many scrapyard owners in Panchayat area were creating serious nuisance and pollution. This was done after gram sabha members passed a resolution in to clear three major scrapyards. Panchayat had directed the rest to shift out, but some have filed a petition in the court and brought a stay on their shifting.
However, scrapyard owner located along Borim -Bethora Bypass road Ratnakar Pujari said that there are hundreds of scrapyards in Goa and we are ready to shift to any place that government is willing to give us at industrial estate or on the outskirts of villages. But six years have passed now and still we are waiting for such places to be allocated to us. If such places are given it should be at a reasonable rate and government should also see to it that the local panchayat bodies provide NOCs for doing business. I myself tried to shift from existing place, but the problem is that no other panchayat is ready to give NOC even if we try to shift to another village. Therefore I am managing the scrapyard with existing NOC of the panchayat.
So far people did not harass me as I have not created any nuisance to them. Though people hate scrapyards, we are the people who somehow are responsible for maintaining the towns and villages clean. There are industries and business activities coming up in the State. Imagine if such establishments were giving contract to any person, the same person might dump the scrap material or litter the scrap during night at open spaces, bypass or highway resulting in pollution. We at least have some control over it as we collect scrap material, process it, bail and selling. By doing this activity we also pay excise and VAT.
“So we are also tax payers. Besides this we provide employment to workers. I myself employ around 40 people in my scrap business. It is like any business activity. Since the beginning around 20 years back I was doing my business far away from residential area, later after few year the bypass road came and also many houses were constructed near my yard. But I am doing my business without disturbing the people,” Pujari said.
