Panaji: Dumping of garbage should be liberally fined and vigilante groups should be roped in to corner litterers of public spaces, Goa`s apex trade body Tuesday told the Goa government.
The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in its pre-budget recommendation has also said that issue of strewn garbage had risen to unacceptable proportions and could have a direct bearing on the state`s popularity with tourists.
"The situation is really worsening whether its garbage, or e-waste or medical waste. In our pre-budget memorandum to the chief minister, we have asked him to impose exemplary fines on those who throw garbage on the roads," said GCCI president Manguirish Pai Raikar.
He also said that vigilante groups should be roped in by the Goa government and given incentives in order to nail litterers.
"The government should come up with a scheme for vigilant groups so that this trend of throwing garbage on Goa`s roads is immediately reined in," Raikar said.
Goa has been grappling with the issue of garbage management, with the state being unable to identify a single site to dispose garbage for over a decade. It is not unusual to find piles of garbage strewn along the roads as well as near urban hubs in this beach tourism destination, visited by 2.6 million tourists annually.
A Goa beach village, Betalbatim, located 40 kms from here has already banned tourists from dumping garbage in its jurisdiction and has asked tourists to carry home bottles, plastic bags and wrappers back after their time at the popular south Goa beach.
IANS
