MARGAO
In a strange coincidence, a meeting of the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) has been convened by the HPCC Member Secretary, Margao Municipal Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes on a day when the Margao civic body opened the financial bids to set up the three bio-methanation plants in the city.
While Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had during his visit to the city on Thursday told the media that the HPCC meeting will be convened soon, the Margao Municipal Chief Officer, who is the HPCC Member Secretary issued the notice, inviting the members for the meeting on February 22, at 11.30 am at the Secretariat.
Many an eyebrow has been raised over the convening of the HPCC meeting headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant when the MMC capped the tendering process for the three bio-methanation plants, throwing up questions whether the government had waited for the MMC to open the financial bids before issuing the notice to call the HPCC meeting.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister had assured on the floor of the House in the last Assembly session that he would convene the HPCC meeting by February 10, a promise which had gone abegging.
For, when the opposition had raised an uproar over the Sonsodo tangle, they were clear in demanding that the government and the MMC should not go for the three bio-methanation plants as approved by GSUDA, but had bated for the seven bio-methanation plants as per the preliminary estimates worked out by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) headed by Waste Management Minister, Michael Lobo.
Beside the Chief Minister, the HPCC meeting notice has been sent to the Urban Development Minister, Milind Naik, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral, Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo, three MLAs Digambar Kamat, Vijai Sardesai and Reginaldo Lourenco and a host of officials, including the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, Urban Development Secretary and other senior officials.
