MARGAO
A change in guard at the PWD portfolio following the exit of Nilesh Cabral and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant taking over the reign of the ministry has cleared decks for the disposal of digested slurry generated by the 5TPD bio-methanation plant.
During Cabral’s stint as PWD Minister, PWD officials had literally barred the Margao Municipality from disposing of the digested slurry at the Margao sewage treatment plant. Attempts by the MMC to dispose of the digested slurry generated by the bio-methanation plant at the PWD-operated STP at Vasco too had come a cropper after officials rejected the request on grounds that the sewage plant cannot accept the digested slurry.
There’s, however, a complete turnaround after Cabral’s exit. With Chief Minister Pramod Sawant presiding over the PWD portfolio, Congress-turned-BJP Margao MLA Digambar Kamat seemed to have had his way.
After Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira inspected the bio-methanation plant following complaint from Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai that the digested slurry from the plant is discharged in the adjoining low-lying areas, devastating the fields, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) had further tightened screws on the Kamat-controlled Margao Municipality, insisting that the civic body find a way out on the disposal of the digested slurry before the Board issues the consent to operate the plant.
A glance at the permission now given to the Margao Municipal Council to dispose of the digested slurry from the bio-methanation plant at the Sirvodem STP shows that the Margao BJP MLA played his due role.
A meeting chaired by Kamat at the conference Hall, STP Sirvodem on January 19 with officials of PWD, SIDCGL and the MMC to discuss the disposal of digested slurry generated at the 5TPD bio-methanation plant ended up with directions from the MLA to the PWD to identify the manhole chamber/sewage network where the MMC can discharge the digested slurry.
Accordingly, a joint site inspection later carried out by the PWD SIDCGL, MMC officials decided that the MMC will dispose of the slurry in the wet well of the pumping stations at Navelim.
Monday saw the PWD issuing permission to the MMC to discharge the digested slurry generated at the bio-methanation plant into the wet well of the pumping station at Navelim, with a condition there should be no spillage around the said wet well/chamber.
The PWD has further insisted that the MMC should discharge the slurry on daily basis to avoid load on STP in case of accumulated waste discharge in large quality.
MMC officials in private heaved a sigh of relief over the PWD opening the doors of the Sirvodem STP for discharge of the digested slurry with the High Court setting 15 days time for the civic body to resume operations of the bio-methanation plant.
