MMC chief accused of imposing illegal sanitation charges

Mapusa: The controversy surrounding the sanitation charges for Mapusa municipality is refusing to die down, with the group of councillors alleging that the chief officer has been arbitrarily, illegally and unilaterally levying exorbitant charges without the council’s approval.Councillors Shashank Narvekar, Tarak Arolkar, Kamal D’Souza, Anand Bhaidkar and Sudhir Kandolkar on Monday said that there has been a lot of confusion regarding the adoption of model municipal (solid waste) management and handling bylaws 2020, garbage and its implementation, more particularly in respect of sanitary charges/taxes.“Since the notification was received in 2020, its adoption in 2023 and its implementation in 2025 are being done without any formal discussion. More importantly, no charges have been pressed by the present council as required by the notification,” councillor Shashank Narvekar said.The councillors said that all stakeholders have repeatedly sought clarity on the matter.“We demand that the matter be taken up seriously and a special council meeting be convened within seven days,” he said.