MARGAO
March 12, 2024. While disposing off a Public Interest Litigation, a High Court bench comprising of Justice Mahesh Sonak and Justice Valmiki Menezes made an observation that the Court expects the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) on Sonsodo to address issues concerning the setting up of 15TPD bio-methanation plant at Sonsodo as soon as possible by issuing necessary directions to the Goa Waste Management Corporation and the Margao Municipal Council.
The Court’s observation came after the Advocate General made a statement that the Chief Minister-headed High Powered Coordination Committee would soon meet and take a decision on the issue of establishment of 15 TPD bio methanation plant at the Sonsodo site or making operational the 5TPD bio methanation plants near the SGPDA market at Margao. In the absence of the HPCC meeting, the High Court’s July 5 deadline to the Margao Municipal Council to file a status report/affidavit in respect of the plan on setting up the bio-methanation plants has gone abegging.
Exactly five months down the line, there’s no sign of the HPCC holding a meeting to take a crucial call how to go about addressing the issue of treatment of waste generated in the commercial capital.
The HPCC had its echo at the Goa Legislative Assembly in the just concluded Assembly session as well after Urban Development Minister Vishwajit Rane announced that the HPCC will decide on the issue of tender floated by Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) to set up a 10TPD pilot project for Plasma Gasification plant at Sonsodo.
At the Margao Municipal Council, civic officials are hoping against hope for the early convening of the HPCC meeting to unveil a direction to the civic body how to go about on waste treatment.
Why HPCC meet needed
to address Sonsodo
The stakeholders, including the Margao Municipal Council is looking forward for the early convening of the HPCC for the simple reason that the MMC is not treating a kilogram out of the 30-35 tonnes of wet waste generated in the commercial capital. Instead, the MMC is transporting the entire wet waste to the Cacora waste treatment plant by spending a whopping Rs 14.5 lakh every month on transportation.
Apart from the huge transportation costs, a crucial question has come to stare at the Margao civic body “ for how long will the A-class Municipal Council transport its wet waste to Cacora and would the civic body be able to handle an emergency situation in the event the Cacora plant is shut down on technical grounds. Take note, the Cacora plant is primarily set up to treat waste from the talukas of Quepem, Canacona, Sanguem and Dharbandora and the waste from Margao is accepted for the moment primarily due to under-utilization of the plant capacity.
Take note, the MMC has spent crores of rupees to tone up infrastructure at Sosnodo, including remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump, beside the piled up waste inside the waste management shed, with the avowed objective of setting up a facility for the treatment of city’s wet waste.
15TPD & 5TPD
bio-methanation plants
The HPCC meeting is keenly awaited by the Margao Municipal Council to take a call on the question of setting up of 15TPD bio-methanation plant proposed at Sonsodo and decide the fate of the 5TPD bio-methanation plant, which is presently set up at the SGPDA market as per the Goa State Pollution Control Board’s directions.
Sources said the HPCC at its meeting held in May last, when Sonsodo was under the High Court’s lens, had decided to set up a 15TPD bio-methanation plant at Sonsodo. In furtherance to the decision, the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) had even prepared the estimates towards the setting up of the 15TPD bio-methanation plant at a cost of Rs 17.06 crore. The proposal, however, hit a road block when the GWMC could not tender the project sans the administrative nod from the Margao Municipal Council.
As far as the 5TPD Bio-methanation plant at the SGPDA market complex is concerned, the plant is shut down after the GSPCB directed the MMC to discontinue the operations. The GSPCB’s order on consent to operate has also expired.
10TPD gasification
plant at Sonsodo
Urban Development Minister Vishwajit Rane recently announced on the floor of the just concluded Assembly Session that the HPCC will meet to take a call on the tender floated by Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) to set up a 10TPD pilot project for a Plasma Gasification Plant based on RDF to generate electricity at Sonsodo.
He said the decision on the gasification plant will be taken at the next HPCC meeting, after the GEDA tender received a lone bid to set up the project costing Rs 3.75 crore, excluding 18 per cent GST.
In the meantime, GEDA has told the Goan that the tender floated to set up the gasification plant has since been scrapped after a lone bidder submitted its bid to set up the plant. Instead, it was pointed out that the Goa Waste Management Corporation will now float a tender for the gasification plant at Sonsodo.
