LIC's letter treated as PIL on garbage disposal issue

Panaji, Oct 4 (UNI) Treating the letter of LIC Employees Union as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a division bench of the Bombay High Court at Panaji has served a notice to the City Corporation seeking its explanation on the 'indiscriminate and illegal dumping of garbage' near office complexes at Patto posing a serious health hazard.

The notice issued yesterday, according to the bench comprising Mr Justice R S Mohite and Mr Justice N A Britto, was returnable within two weeks. The court immediately acted with the Union approaching it after exhausting all other avenues of justice in pursuading the Corporation for removal of the garbage and stopping further dumping.

The Union had, in the letter, sought the court's intervention, with the garbage posing a health hazard to all the employees of the LIC, BSNL, Income Tax, Central Excise and Customs and other departments in the vicinity.

The City Corporation failed to heed the directives of the Goa State Pollution Control Board as also other authorities and but continued to dump the garbage with impunity for the last 18 months, a letter said.

Many of the employees developed rash, nausea, headache and vomiting due to the foul odour emanating from the garbage dump even as the general public fear to tread the area and approach the offices for fear of the stench which got aggravated following torrential rains with the likelihood of an epidemic outbreak, the union said.

Meanwhile, the corporation Mayor Mr Tony Rodrigues said the solid waste disposal plant being set up at patto Plaza would be completed by month end, ending the garbage menace. It was delayed because of heavy rains throughout the season.

He maintained that the stench had been kept under check by spraying chemicals that converted the garbage into compost.

UNI