the goan I network
OLD GOA
Hundreds of residents of Old Goa turned up for the gram sabha on Sunday and unanimously resolved to oppose the proposed garbage treatment plant at Bainguinim-Old Goa.
At the gram sabha on Sunday, the villagers also urged the panchayat to appoint a lawyer and file a public interest litigation against the plant in the High Court.
The panchayat was also urged to appoint a technical team to assist the lawyer in presenting a strong case against the plant.
Speaking at the meeting, the residents pointed out that the area where the plant is proposed is located on a hillock. “The plant is coming up on a hillock which acts as a sponge where rainwater gets harvested throughout the year,” said a local Bernadette Fernandes while further stating that it helps in rejuvenating the wells in and around Old Goa.
“There is no tap water available for residents of the Kadamba plateau and currently they are relying on borewells. After the plant is set up, will this ground water not get contaminated?” she questioned.
NIO scientist Arwind Saran said that a parliamentary
committee report has suggested that every urban body should have a decentralized system of waste treatment. “Landfills are not to dump garbage but for water harvesting,” Saran stated while informing that even NGT has rapped the Saligao waste plant because it is not designed properly. “This plant is also not good scientifically, ecologically as well as administratively because there is no mention of aquifers,” Saran said.
Locals also pointed out that a historic fortress wall of Old Goa is located inside the proposed site. “This is centuries-old fortress wall, needs to be protected and faces threat of its existence if the plant is allowed to come up,” a local Glen Cabral opined. Location of a mutt, educational institutions, religious institutions, etc very close to the site were also raised at the meeting.
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Panchayat to appoint
lawyer: Sarpanch
OLD GOA: Se Old Goa Sarpanch Janita Madkaikar stated that the panchayat is with the people in opposing the garbage plant at Bainguinim.“The people have resolved to take the issue to the High Court and we are bound to honour the sentiments of the people. So accordingly we are going to appoint a legal counsel in this regard,” Madkaikar informed while speaking to the media after the conclusion of the gram sabha.
Later, in the afternoon, Madkaikar also participated in the protest march against the Bainguinim plant and reiterated that she will always be with the people in opposing the plant.
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GWMC team prevented from speaking
OLD GOA: The deputation of a 3-member team from Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) to pacify the opponents of the proposed garbage treatment plant at Bainguinim met with little success as the locals refused to allow them to speak at the gram sabha.
The team was led by an officer Siddhant Dessai along with two other officials. But, when the panchayat authorities informed the gram sabha that they have been deputed by the government to clarify on the plant, the locals refused to allow them to speak as they said that it is the government who has to listen to the views of the people and not the other way round.
The locals also decried that there was no prior intimation to the panchayat that the officials would be deputed at the gram sabha.
