Says it can handle only limited dry residual waste
MARGAO
The petitioner in the Public Interest Litigation filed by Citizens for Sonsodo, Roque Mascarenhas has cautioned the authorities and the public that the gasification plant commissioned at Sonsodo is not a complete solution to waste management.
Saying that a gasification plant can only handle a limited portion of dry residual waste, Mascarenhas said “without a comprehensive system that includes segregation, composting or biomethanation, and professional management, this initiative will fall short”.
“As the petitioner before the High Court of Bombay at Goa, through a Public Interest Litigation that led to the removal of the legacy waste dump at Sonsodo, I feel duty-bound to caution the authorities and the public regarding the newly commissioned 10 TPD gasification plant. Let it be stated unequivocally—this is not a complete solution”, he said.
He added: “More than 50 per cent of the waste generated in Margao is biodegradable. Ignoring this critical component while projecting gasification as a solution is fundamentally flawed. Unless wet waste is strictly segregated at source and scientifically processed, the root cause of the problem will persist. This approach risks repeating the very mistakes that created the Sonsodo crisis”.
Mascarenhas said the people living in the surrounding areas—especially those in Curtorim Constituency comprising Curtorim, Raia and Rachol—have already borne the brunt of poor waste management. They cannot be made to suffer again due to half-baked solutions and misplaced priorities, he said.
He has urged the authorities to stop presenting partial measures as complete solutions and instead implement a holistic, accountable and scientifically sound waste management system.
