Just at a time when Margao Municipal Council was breathing easy after the much-awaited remediation project at the Sonsodo legacy dump was flagged off, it is seized with another issue that threatens to jeopardize the treatment plans. Farmers from Aquem-Baixo, Navelim and Margao have raised a banner of protest over their agricultural land opposite Margao railway station demarcated to store waste generated through the remediation process.
The bone of contention is the land that is demarcated for the dump. If we may recall, controversy erupted in 2003 when the land was allocated by the Goa State Urban Development Agency for a truck terminus. In 2010, a proposal to hand it over to PWD for housing quarters also ran into rough weather. The ownership of land remains a million-dollar question with the matter now in the jurisdiction of courts. It appears that the MMC failed to study the ownership of land before considering it for a temporary dump, despite being aware of the background.
The area in question has been demarcated and fenced by the MMC without taking the landowners into confidence. And even if the ownership issue is set aside, what message are the city fathers sending out? What kind of Goenkarponn is this where farmers who are dependent on farming are denied their fundamental right of living? When it comes to agriculture, much of the discourses have been between latest techniques and organic farming. Against the objectives of giving farming a much-needed push, this move to snatch away cultivable agricultural land is complete hypocrisy. It exposes the hollow thinking of the powers that be. The MMC by bulldozing through these landholdings is doing grave injustice to villagers who are currently cultivating this land and eking out a living.
There is an estimated 2.35 lakh tonne of waste at the Sonsodo legacy dump to be treated, and understandably this is going to generate a substantial amount of treated waste that will be temporarily parked at the demarcated area. But these dumps of treated garbage are not only going to deny farmers of their farm produce but will adversely impact the land.
The debate, after the recent onion crisis, has been to encourage farming to reduce dependency on neighbouring States for supplies. However, the ground scenario is not conducive to make farming a profitable venture in Goa and which is why locals are reluctant to get into this field. By using agricultural lands as dump yards, what message is being sent out?
Like several other issues, there is a political twist here too. While there were long-drawn plans on remediation, even extending over drinks and cups of steaming hot tea, why was the dumping zone not discussed? Why did representatives remain mum over this aspect? The quantum of waste to be treated is vast and will take over a year. In all probability, it will run through the next monsoon. Respective legislators need to get people on board and identify an alternate site in the greater interest of all.
