A Division Bench of Bombay High Court at Goa comprising of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Prithviraj Chavan today directed the Director of Panchayat to direct the Chimbel Panchayat to expeditiously clear all the black spots of garbage within its jurisdiction. The Court also directed the Chimbel Panchayat to forthwith resume the collection of door to door collection of garbage.
When the contempt petition filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues over the inaction of the authorities on the garbage issue came up for hearing today, Adv. Rodrigues submitted to the Court photographs of black spots of garbage in Chimbel. Adv. Rodrigues also drew the attention of the Court that the Chimbel Panchayat had for the last ten days stopped door to door collection of garbage.
The Court today also directed the Corporation of City of Panaji to clear within two weeks the heeps of garbage lying at the Divya Circle at the entrance of Panaji.
Adv. Aires Rodrigues in his contempt petition pointed out to the Court that in 2007 a Public Interest Litigation was filed over the rampant dumping of garbage and building debris along the roads road and that taking serious note of the gross violations of law, various orders came to be passed by the High Court in that petition which was finally disposed on 26th June 2008 based on a Minutes of Order that was signed and submitted to the Court.
Adv. Rodrigues further stated that in the Minutes of Order the Goa Government had undertaken to continue and take to its logical conclusion investigations into the dumping of garbage and construction debris.
Adv. Rodrigues also stated that in the Minutes of Order amongst other things the Government had also undertaken to within three months identify and designate separate places for safe disposal of building debris without harming the environment besides also having undertaken to within three months identify and place at proper convenient locations public receptacles, depots or places for temporary deposit or collection of non-biodegradable garbage.
Adv. Rodrigues has stated that it was very anguishing that it was almost a decade and over the years the Goa Government has done nothing to comply with the solemn undertaking given to the High Court on 26th June 2008 and that the malafied conduct of the authorities amounts to rank disobedience to the orders of the Court.
Pointing out that in rank contempt of Court debris and garbage has continued to be dumped unabated along the same stretch of the bypass with the situation getting bad to worse by the day having now reached a point of crisis, Adv. Rodrigues has submitted that it was very appalling that the authorities have been turning a Nelson’s eye to this gross violation of law and acting contrary to the solemn undertaking given to the Court which amounts to showing scant respect to the Majesty of the highest Court of the State.
