MARGAO
Days after alleging that the Rs 7.5-crore, 10-TPD gasification plant at Sonsodo was operating below capacity, former Margao Municipal Chairperson Savio Coutinho has been summoned by the Fatorda police following a complaint by Margao Municipal Chief Officer Madhu Narvekar over alleged unauthorised entry into the waste treatment plant.
Acting on the MMC complaint, the police have called Coutinho for an inquiry. Though asked to appear on Tuesday, he said he would report to the police station on Wednesday.
The MMC alleged that Coutinho and others entered the restricted facility without permission, citing safety, security and environmental concerns. The civic body also objected to social media posts made about the functioning of the gasification plant.
Unfazed by the complaint, Coutinho claimed the police summons only reinforced his allegation that “Sonsodo is a hen that lays the golden eggs”. He questioned whether media personnel who accompanied him during the visit would also face action.
“This is the fallout of our expose of the Rs 7.5-crore gasification plant recently inaugurated by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and PWD Minister Digambar Kamat, and the dumping of fresh mixed waste on reclaimed land after the Rs 100-crore remediation project,” he said.
Alleging that the action was aimed at preventing public scrutiny of the Sonsodo facility, Coutinho said, “Instead of acting on what we exposed, the authorities are targeting those who exposed it. We will fight back.”
