Nuvem village p’yat proposes garbage tax

Margao: The Nuvem panchayat has proposed a monthly garbage tax of Rs 35 per household during its gram sabha on Sunday. The meeting, chaired by sarpanch Freda D’Sa, drew attention to various environmental and infrastructure issues facing the village.
The proposed garbage tax led to a detailed discussion on waste management strategies, particularly concerning the influx of migrant population.
Gram sabha member Carmelito Andrade suggested leveraging existing police demographic data to implement a tiered taxation system, where properties housing multiple households could be charged accordingly. “We need to address the root cause of roadside garbage dumping, which increased with the migrant population,” Andrade said and proposed that each additional family residing in a single property should be charged the standard rate.
Water conservation emerged as another pressing concern, following the chief minister’s recent warning about a potential reduction in drinking water availability to four hours. Zarina da Cunha called for a resolution to conduct a comprehensive hydrological survey of the village.
“We cannot approve any new projects with swimming pools given the looming water crisis,” she said. Andrade called for regular monitoring of Sal’s pollution levels.
A controversy erupted over unauthorised kayaking operations on Sal when member Betty Mendes raised the issue during the meeting. The sarpanch said that no permission was granted by the panchayat for such activities. Mendes said that even the Captain of Ports was unaware of these operations, raising doubt about the legality of the activities on the river.
The meeting also addressed infrastructure concerns, with residents from Gorvote highlighting problems caused by highway rumblers. John D’costa said that heavy vehicles crossing these rumblers at night create severe vibrations affecting nearby homes.