Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: High Court of Bombay at Goa has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Aldona Sarpanch for filing a false affidavit and neglecting to set up mandatory Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Panchayat.
The court reprimanded the Sarpanch for misguiding by providing incorrect information and alleging that Goa State Pollution Control Board(GSPCB) was making false claims.
As per the order of the bench, when GSPCB inspected the MRF at Aldona on June 30, it was found to be closed.
However, sarpanch submitted an affidavit before the court and claimed that the MRF facility was operational.
The affidavit also stated that GSPCB’s submission was false. When GSPCB brought the facts to the notice of the Court, the court imposed fine on the Sarpanch. The suo motu petition on garbage management has now been posted for hearing on July 25.
It may be noted that during an earlier hearing, coming down heavily on the panchayats, the High Court had said, “Having regard to the fact that for all this while, these panchayats have not even bothered to set up an MRF, we direct that until the MRF is actually set up in these villages, these panchayats, will not issue any licences for construction from today itself.”
Such an order is necessary because the panchayats, on one hand, continue to issue construction licences and on the other hand, make no provision whatsoever for collection, storage and treatment of waste that is invariably generated.”
