the goan I network
MARGAO
The Margao Municipal Council got a further two-month breather to work out a solution to the Sonsodo imbroglio after the civic body suo moto agreed before the South Goa District Court for the extension of the existing arrangement wherein the municipality will continue to pay Rs one lakh per day to Fomento in lieu of treatment of the segregated waste supplied by the civic body.
Contrary to expectations, the MMC made no official submission before the court on the council resolution adopted at the last meeting, wherein it was resolved to pay only Rs 25,000 per week as against the payment of Rs one lakh per day to Fomento
When the matter came up for hearing before district judge B P Deshpande on Monday, MMC legal counsel S Padiyar sought further time to come out with a solution to the Sonsodo mess on the plea that the High Powered Co-ordination Committee (HPCC) headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is seized of the matter.
Adv Padiyar maintained that more time is required for the HPCC to take a decision on Sonsodo, with the government keen in addressing the issue. He assured the court that the MMC will write a letter to the government on Tuesday morning itself to convene the HPCC meeting.
He argued that since the government is also working on a mechanism to address the Sonsodo issue and that the matter was also pending before the High Court, the civic body should be granted additional time to find a solution in the fitness of things. “The HPCC had been closely associated with Sonsodo, right from the time the plant was set up and the payments made to Fomento,” he submitted.
Adv Padiyar submitted that the MMC will have no issue if the present arrangement, wherein the civic body pays Rs one lakh per day to Fomento, is extended till the next date of hearing. The advocate, while making a mention of the resolution adopted by the Council on the payment issue, submitted a copy of it to the judge, but with a plea not to take it on record.
Senior counsel representing Fomento, Adv R Dada, submitted to the court that the MMC should work out a solution at the earliest, pointing out that the waste treatment plant is due for maintenance.
During the hearing, judge Deshpande suggested to the two parties to explore the possibility of mediation to resolve the problem, but the MMC lawyer submitted that the arbitration proceedings in the matter have already been set in motion.
The judge later passed an order for the continuance of the present arrangement while adjourning the matter to November 27. The court pointed out that orders passed in the matter will be subject to the final outcome before the court and in the arbitration proceedings.
