MARGAO
In a fresh bid to address the dark spots in the commercial capital, numbering around 65, MLAs of Margao and Fatorda, Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai, respectively, along with Margao Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira, on Monday, took time off to witness a demonstration of a garbage suction machine.
The project may cost the civic body around Rs 70 lakh, inclusive of GST, if one goes by the statements of the two MLAs and the Municipal Chairperson, that the civic body may go in for two machines, one each for Margao and Fatorda constituency. Each suction machine will cost the civic body Rs 29 lakh.
The trio, however, may face a question or two “ whether the municipality will revisit the door-to-door waste collection tender, which is in the final stage of inking with the successful bidders.
Municipal engineers conceded that the door-to-door waste collection tender mandates the contractors to clean up the dark spots as part of the operations.
Take note, one of the conditions in the door-to-door waste collection, the engineers informed, is that the city’s dark spots are required to be cleared every day by the door-to-door waste contractors as part of the operations.
As the door-to-door waste collection project will cost the civic body a whopping Rs five crore annually, questions are being raised whether the civic body will revisit the tender and reduce the cost in the event the MMC goes in for the garbage suction machines.
While the MLAs and the Chairperson evinced keen interest in the garbage suction machine, with the latter even going to the extent of briefing the media that the proposal to purchase the machines will be placed at the next council meeting, MMC technical engineers in private said the machine has no inbuilt mechanism to segregate the waste.
“The machine will suck the segregated or unsegregated waste from the dark sports before the waste is transported to Sonsodo for treatment. The door-to-door waste collection workers are mandated to segregate the waste at the dark spots and send the waste to Sonsodo as per the tender document. We do not really know how the machine will help the civic body when the work at the dark spots is to be handled by the contractors as per the door-to-door collection tender,” remarked an engineer.
The engineer added; “As per solid waste management rules, the waste needs to be segregated at source. Hence, the door-to-door waste collection workers are mandated to segregate it at the dark spots before being transported to Sonsodo for treatment”.
That’s not all. The engineer pointed out that the MMC will have to foot the bill of a driver and cleaner to man the garbage suction machine. No doubt, the machines have a one year warranty, but the MMC will be required to sign the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for the smooth running of the machine, sources said.
Margao, Fatorda MLAs say upto MMC to decide on the machine
MARGAO: MLAs Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai on Monday said the garbage suction machine may help in clearing waste from the city’s dark spots within minutes if two such machines are deployed in Margao and Fatorda.
They, however, said the MMC will have to take a call on whether to go in for the machines and whether to segregate the garbage at the dark spots or at Sosnodo.
Kamat said the machines appear an ideal solution for the dark spots since they can clean up garbage within half an hour. “It looks a good option as the machine can suck everything and has the capacity to clean the dark spots. The only question that is to be decided is since the machine cannot segregate the waste, the MMC will have to decide whether to segregate the waste at the dark spot or at Sonsodo,” he said.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said, “We have come to see the presentation. The council will have to take a decision since each machine will cost the civic body Rs 29 lakh”, he added.
Vasco-based Prashant Joshi told the media that the machine is an innovation of two youngsters from Maharashtra to handle dark spots. “Goa being a tourist destination, we thought that this ideal machine would work for Goa since there are too many dark spots and it is not possible to handle the waste manually”, Joshi said, adding the machine cost Rs 29 lakh, excluding GST.
