MAPUSA
In response to ongoing and unauthorised waste dumping on the Assagao plateau by the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC), the Assagao Comunidade has taken drastic action to prevent further environmental damage.
Frustrated by the MMC’s continuous waste disposal in their area despite legal orders, the Comunidade has now decided to deploy heavy machinery to block access to the site, citing severe pollution concerns for the land and local groundwater.
On Tuesday, a joint inspection was conducted at the dump site in Assagao by officials from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), Goa Waste Management Corporation, Assagao panchayat, MMC, and local health authorities.
This action followed repeated complaints from the Assagao Comunidade, whose leaders argue that the dumping has polluted the area and contaminated local wells.
The attorney of the Assagao Comunidade, Nelson Fernandes, expressed his frustration with the MMC’s defiance of a High Court directive ordering a halt to waste dumping at the site.
“Despite repeated communications to various authorities, the dumping continues unabated. I have now decided to use four JCBs to dig up the entire place, preventing trucks from entering our property. We’ll also position security guards to monitor the area,” said Fernandes.
According to the attorney, residents living below the plateau recently reported foul-smelling, discoloured water in their wells, a situation he described as “unacceptable.”
Laboratory tests confirmed that the well water was polluted, likely due to leachate seeping into the groundwater after heavy rains. With the water unfit for consumption, locals have been forced to purchase bottled water. For years, the Comunidade has urged the GSPCB and other authorities to halt illegal dumping on the plateau.
Fernandes emphasised that viable alternatives exist, pointing to waste treatment plants in Cunchelim and Saligao as appropriate sites for waste disposal.
He suggested that the MMC’s persistence in using the Assagao site might stem from “commercial interests” related to segregating and processing waste.
During Tuesday’s inspection, officials observed new waste deposits deeper within the plateau, indicating that fresh dumping activities had begun in additional locations.
