Panchayats to help households clear old furniture, other waste

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that panchayats and municipalities will collect all kinds of waste, including old furniture, clothes, e-waste and papers, among others, from all households next week to clear the unwanted items lying in houses across the state.
Sawant said that govt will impose hefty fines if anyone is found dumping garbage in villages and along the roadside.
He said that he has given directions to police and PWD to take strict actions against those throwing garbage on the roadside and in villages. “We will impose hefty fines against the violators. We will seize the vehicle, and also a fine will be imposed and already provision has been made. If they want to dispose of the waste, then it should be handed over to the collection centre,” the CM said.
Sawant said that panchayats and municipalities should take the initiative to visit all the houses to collect all types of waste, whether it is old clothes, e-waste, paper and furniture, among others, next week.
“The person who goes to collect the waste should gather it. Then they should sell that waste as scrap and the money should be used for the welfare of those who collected the waste within their respective panchayats and municipalities,” the CM said.
He said that the finance department and panchayat department have issued orders in this regard. “This initiative will help clear all types of waste from houses,” Sawant said. “If all panchayats and municipalities collect such waste, we won’t see anyone throwing garbage along the roadside.”
The CM said that Goans have a bad habit of throwing garbage in the river or on the roadside to create garbage dumps. “Segregate the waste and local authorities will collect it,” he said.
For hotels and industries, Sawant said that contractors who deal with waste from hotels and industries should register with govt and govt will track the waste disposal by the contractor.
He said that it has come to light that industries dispose of their waste in villages, strict action will be initiated against those industries found indulging in such acts.
Interacting online with the panchayat members and others over the Swachhta Hi Seva programme, the CM said that all of us should not forget to maintain cleanliness during the festival period.
Sawant said that some of the panchayats have taken up the work of treating liquid waste. He said that on Oct 1, everyone should hold a one-hour cleanliness drive.
The chief minister said that in the last 75 years of independence, not a single central govt has given importance to cleanliness except the govt under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sawant said that the Clean India Mission was launched by Modi in 2014.