40 CCP supervisors put on notice over garbage

Panaji: The Corporation of the City of Panaji has cracked down on 40 supervisors and has warned them of disciplinary action for their “lethargic attitude” and “lack of interest” in keeping the capital clean. The civic body has issued showcause notices to the supervisors and given them till Monday before disciplinary proceedings are initiated.
The crackdown came on Friday after chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel and senior officials inspected Panaji as it prepares for the upcoming G20 meetings. Goel and senior bureaucrats were peeved at the sight of uncollected garbage strewn across Panaji.
“The lethargic attitude of site supervisors, senior supervisors, and supervisors towards their official duties, as well as the lack of interest in doing their work, affects the overall image of the city,” said CCP commissioner Clen Madeira.
Showcause notices were issued by Madeira to site supervisors, supervisors and senior supervisors for negligence and lethargy. The personnel have been asked to respond within 48 hours.
Madeira and Goel conducted a surprise inspection in the capital on Friday and found plastic bottles, dry vegetation and other garbage lying in gutters and stormwater drains “uncollected for days”.
The threat of disciplinary action sparked consternation among some of the supervisors who felt that the civic body is being unfair. A supervisor said that wet and dry garbage are being collected without any hassle and only dry vegetation has been piling up. He also said that no responsibility is being fixed for the city being haphazardly dug up and neither have senior officials or contractors been pulled up for the condition of the roads.
Councillor and former mayor Surendra Furtado said that notices were issued to “defenceless” staff while turning a blind eye to the “unsafe and haphazard” work undertaken by the Smart City Mission. “The mayor and his advisors should be held responsible for shifting the duties of supervisors time and again from one ward to another,” Furtado said. “The mayor is trying to protect the Smart City officials and the contractors.”