The government is set to bulldoze its way on the Bainguinim garbage treatment plant despite the stiff opposition. The newly-appointed Minister for Waste Management Michael Lobo appears adamant asking the local MLA not to budge under pressure. Once again, the government is headed towards a collision course with locals. Sunday’s marathon 10-hour public hearing saw a huge majority of locals and Church leaders rise against the proposed plant.
If the Bainguinim hearings were intended to listen to the voices of people, what is the sense government is getting? The opposition to the site cannot be discarded as a handiwork of NGOs since there was resistance even before the land could be acquired in 2008. The CCP, Taleigao and St Cruz panchayats which have significant influences of Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate have supported the decision to go for Bainguinim as expected. On the flip side, locals including the village panchayat and religious leaders are in the opposition since the garbage treatment plant comes in the vicinity of heritage sites where iconic Kadamba-era landmarks are located.
Against such a background, why did the government have no Plan B? Let’s admit the fact that the political reluctance was clear for over a decade. In fact, even Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s budget went silent on Bainguinim while he touched broadly on government’s plans on garbage treatment. When it comes to politics and power, legislators have shown foresight to checkmate the opposition with multiple plans. Or rather, let us rephrase that, the government had ready plans to win over every Opposition. Is defiance the only solution in this case?
The plateau has habitation and is developing at a fast pace. Lobo has ensured that the process of garbage treatment will be odourless. Is Lobo trying to convince the thousand-odd flats that are in the vicinity? In that case, how did the government allow residences to come up in close proximity when there were plans of setting up a garbage treatment plant? Lobo’s promise of odourless treatment smacks of deceit for the simple reason that it’s not the treatment that is the only concern, but the overall logistics as well. If villagers at the Saligao plant are protesting, it is because of the stench of uncovered garbage being transported and the random dumping of rejected unsegregated waste that is creating a nuisance.
Government should have had an option in place much earlier, and isolated locations should have been identified for garbage treatment and cordoned off from habitation. Attributing this issue as a High Court directive is only a way to silence opponents, lest we forget, there are dozens of cases where the state government has gone soft on compliances. Lobo intends to go to the feet of St Francis Xavier to seek strength. We wonder what kind of divine providence he is seeking against the very people of the land.
