Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: The Bhati village panchayat in Sanguem taluka was ordered by the Bombay High Court in Goa on Tuesday to forfeit its Rs five lakh deposit for failing to establish a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in the hamlet.
Despite the High Court providing the village panchayat with multiple opportunities, the Bhati village panchayat was unable to construct an MRF facility.
The court also served the panchayat secretary and Bhati sarpanch with notices of contempt of court.
During a suo moto writ suit hearing in July of last year, the court ordered the Bhati village panchayat to deposit Rs five lakh for failing to follow previous orders to establish a permanent MRF for rubbish management as required by law and to comply with subsequent contempt notices.
At the subsequent hearing, the Bhati village panchayat’s attorney informed the court that the sarpanch had submitted an affidavit indicating that the panchayat had made a deal with the Uguem village panchayat and that the MRF established by the Uguem panchayat would now be utilised by the Bhati panchayat as a temporary MRF. The duration of this arrangement was limited to six months.
The State government was currently assigning 2,000 square metres of land to the Bhati panchayat for the construction of Panchayat Ghar, according to the panchayat’s attorney, Adv. Padiyar. As part of the Panchayat Ghar complex, he stated, the panchayat will offer a permanent MRF on this property.