Clash over Fatorda works rocks Margao council meet

Chief Officer Madhu Narvekar intervenes as Goa Forward Party and BJP councillors engage in a heated confrontation during the Margao Municipal Council meeting on Wednesday.

MARGAO
Sparks flew at the Margao Municipal Council’s final meeting of the current term on Monday as councillors from the Goa Forward Party and BJP locked horns, reflecting the intensifying political battle ahead of the upcoming civic and Assembly elections in Fatorda. 
The confrontation erupted after BJP councillor and Fatorda BJP Mandal president Shweta Lotlikar objected strongly to development proposals submitted by Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai for works in her ward (Ward No. 5). Lotlikar questioned how the council could entertain proposals in her constituency when she had already submitted similar development plans.
She also objected to references in the meeting minutes regarding development works undertaken under the Forest Department, claiming that the facility in question had been established during the tenure of former Fatorda MLA and BJP State president Damu Naik.
Defending the MLA’s move, Goa Forward councillor Ravindra alias Raju Naik said Sardesai, as an associate member of the civic body, had every right to propose development works. He pointed out that the MLA had only sought a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the council and had not requested municipal funds for the projects. Naik further reminded the Council that Lotlikar herself had originally been elected on a Goa Forward ticket before later joining the BJP.
As the debate intensified, BJP councillors Camilo Barretto and Milagrina Gomes backed Lotlikar and demanded clarification from the chairperson on how the MLA could propose works in her ward.
The exchanges soon turned heated when Naik left his seat and charged towards the area where Camilo Barretto was standing, leading to a sharp verbal confrontation between the two sides. Chief Officer Madhu Narvekar was forced to step down from the dais and intervene to prevent the situation from escalating further.
Chairperson Damu Shirodkar later sought to calm tempers, clarifying that MLAs are permitted to propose development works funded through sources other than municipal funds, as they are associate members of the council. He added that since Lotlikar had also proposed similar works, the council would record her proposals in the meeting minutes as well.
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Misplaced priorities? Council silent on plant plan, seeks transport relief 
MARGAO: The last meeting of the current term of the Margao Municipal Council ended with city fathers unanimously resolving to urge the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) to bear the transportation cost of carrying wet waste from Sonsodo to the Cacora waste treatment facility at Curchorem — a move aimed at saving the civic body nearly Rs 1.80 crore spent annually on waste transportation.
Ironically, none of the councillors displayed any urgency in demanding a dedicated wet waste treatment plant at Sonsodo, despite the city’s growing waste management requirements.
While the proposal seeking GWMC support for transportation costs sailed through unanimously and without much debate, councillors failed to even mention the 2024 High Court directions mandating the civic body to establish a 15 TPD bio-methanation plant at Sonsodo.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Chairperson Damu Shirodkar highlighted the installation of a 10-tonne gasification plant at Sonsodo during the council’s five-year tenure. However, he remained silent on whether there was any proposal in the pipeline to set up a wet waste treatment facility at the dump site. His remarks indicated that the present council’s solution to the long-pending Sonsodo crisis has largely been limited to transporting the city’s daily wet waste to Cacora.
Gasification plant not a comprehensive solution
Sources maintain that the Rs 7.5-crore gasification plant is far from being a comprehensive solution to Margao’s mounting waste problem, given its limited role in treating dry and mixed waste.
The facility reportedly does not process even a single tonne of the nearly 35 tonnes of wet waste generated daily in the commercial capital. Instead, the plant has been designed primarily to handle dry and mixed waste collected from black spots across the city.
Sources further pointed out that the disposal of dry and plastic waste had already been undertaken by GWMC for several years. In fact, GWMC continues to collect dry waste from various parts of the city and transport it to cement factories in Karnataka for disposal.
“What Margao desperately needed was a dedicated wet waste treatment plant, considering the city generates nearly 35 tonnes of wet waste every day,” a source said.
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Fresh resolution clears way for waste collection tender
MARGAO: Apparently caught on the wrong foot over the controversial resolution concerning the floating of a tender for door-to-door waste collection, the Margao Municipal Council on Wednesday passed a fresh resolution authorising the administration to initiate the tendering process.
The resolution was adopted under “Any Other Business” (AOB), but not before ruling councillor Mahesh Amonkar launched a sharp attack on former MMC chairperson Savio Coutinho for lodging a police complaint over the proposed tender process.
Amonkar demanded that chairperson Damu Shirodkar initiate appropriate action against Coutinho, accusing him of defaming councillors and municipal officials despite the civic body not having floated the tender yet.
With the issue triggering a major controversy after the council, at its previous meeting, had resolved to defer the tendering process, the chairperson informed the members that the matter would be taken up during the AOB session.
The council eventually extended unanimous support to the fresh resolution, with councillors insisting that the tendering process be completed before the existing door-to-door waste collection contract expires in July.