AUDIT OBSERVATIONS
*In the absence of a plan, the MMC could not analyze the difference between projected waste generation and actual collection of waste
* The Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) has quantified as per projected waste generation in the Margao Municipal area was 61.05TPD. The MMC collected only 58TPD, thus 3.05TPD was uncollected which may contribute to littering and black spots
*As per information produced by the MMC to audit, there was only windrow composting technology used for 30-35 TPD wet waste at Sonsodo waste processing plant and 12TPD dry waste was baled and supplied to the cement plants
*It is thus inferred that 11 TPC collected waste (out of 58TPD reported by MMC) and 3TPD uncollected waste (as estimated by GWMC) was dumped at Sonsodo site
MARGAO
Failure to put in place the Solid Waste Management Plan to deal with the waste problem has brought the Margao Municipal Council under the scanner of the Audit.
The Principal Accountant General (Audit) Goa has told the Municipal Chief Officer to state the reasons for not preparing the solid waste management (SWM) plan even after five years of the notification of the state policy.
The Audit has further asked the Chief Officer to state the reason for not placing the SWM plan at the council meeting.
The senior audit officer of the team has pointed out that Rule 15(a) of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 mandates inter alia the urban local bodies to prepare the solid waste management plan as per the state policy and submit a copy to the respective departments of the State government.
The Audit officer further drew the attention of the MMC that the Solid Waste Management Manual 2016 also defined the procedures for the preparation of plans, pointing out that the urban local bodies are required to prepare an SWM plan within six months from the date of notification of the State policy and strategy.
The audit has observed that the MMC was expected to prepare its plan within six months from October 2018 after the State government notified the policy.
Incidentally, during the audit scrutiny, the MMC is believed to have submitted that the SWM plan was prepared by the civic body in 2023. The Audit party, however, noticed that the document was neither signed by any competent authority nor was a resolution passed at the council meeting.
Interestingly, the MMC stated in the plan that total waste generation in the municipal area was around 58TPD, but the audit observed that the methodology adopted to quantify the waste generation was not mentioned. The plan stated that the MMC collected, segregated and transported the generated waste up to the processing units. The audit, however, observed that the plan did not describe the total capacity of processing waste and did not make a futuristic plan to handle the huge dump created at Sonsodo.
No plan was also put in place for the capacity building of engaged manpower including technical and non-technical staff. Similarly, the audit observed that there was no plan for awareness of SWM.
Municipal Officials, however, are believed to have taken the plea that when the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 were notified by the Goa government in 2018, the Sosnodo waste treatment plant was handled by a private party. The MMC further pointed out that the civic body has now worked out a plan and has been sent to the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) for approval.
