Ponda: Kavlem villagers have asked panchayat members to resign before the next gram sabha if they fail to remove the garbage dumping shed in front of the panchayat office within four days. The next gram sabha is scheduled to be held in three months.The demand was raised at Sunday’s gram sabha, where villagers grilled the panchayat body over the garbage shed, non-implementation of the previous gram sabha’s resolution to reduce house tax, and unchecked scrapyards in the village, among other issues.Villagers alleged that the garbage dumped inside the shed was causing a foul smell and nuisance in the area. They questioned the panchayat’s decision to continue with the shed despite repeated demands to shift the garbage or remove the structure.Kalpesh Naik, a villager, said the garbage dumped inside the shed was creating a nuisance in the area. He said villagers had asked the panchayat members to resign before the next gram sabha if they failed to remove the shed within four days.Naik said the gram sabha had also urged the panchayat not to issue construction licences for multi-dwelling complexes until the garbage disposal issue was resolved.“We have no objection to allowing small houses but don’t want big complexes, as they generate more garbage,” Naik said.Kisan Naik, another villager, said the panchayat had failed to obtain the necessary approval from higher authorities to reduce house tax rates, as resolved at the previous gram sabha held on May 31.Under the proposed revised rates, owners of reinforced cement concrete buildings would pay Rs 10 per square metre of house area instead of Rs 20, while owners of houses with tiled roofs would pay Rs 8 instead of Rs 15. The tax on cowsheds would be reduced to Rs 5 from Rs 10.The rates were increased in the 2024-25 financial year, but villagers said the hike was excessive.Hrushikesh Behare, a local, said villagers had been asking the panchayat for the past 10 years to take serious action on the garbage issue .“However, the panchayat body is reluctant to take any action against it,” Behare alleged. He also said mosquitoes were breeding in the garbage being dumped by the panchayat itself.The gram sabha was chaired by sarpanch Manuja Naik. Deputy sarpanch Sushant Kapileshwarkar and all panch members were present.
