Questions raised over govt’s funding rollback; Council taps Finance Commission funds for first instalment
The gasification plant being installed at the Sonsodo waste management site.
MARGAO
It’s now official. The Margao Municipal Council will have to foot the bill for the Rs 7.5 crore 10-ton gasification plant tendered by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) on behalf of the civic body.
As the Pune-based firm has almost completed the work of installing the plant and machinery of the project at Sonsodo, the Municipality has suddenly realised that the government will not fund the project as was initially made out to be by the powers that be.
Left with no option, the Margao Municipality has tapped the Finance Commission’s balance funds to arrange the first instalment for the Pune-based firm. While the government has granted approval to the civic body to pay the first instalment to the Pune-based firm, questions are being raised in the corridors of the Margao Municipal building how come the government has backtracked in its decision to fund the gasification technology.
For, the proposal to set up the gasification plant at Sonsodo had emanated from the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) as a pilot project. In fact, tendering of the gasification was carried out by GEDA, again raising serious questions how come the MMC was not allowed to tender the project if the civic body was supposed to make the payments.
With no option left now with the government insisting that the civic body pay the first instalment, around 35 per cent of the capital cost of the project, the Municipality is now pinning its hopes on the government to fund the balance amount in instalments.
Sources said the gasification plant was proposed by GEDA to the civic body, upon which a delegation of officials of GEDA, Goa State Pollution Control Board, besides Margao Municipal Council had visited Pune to evaluate the gasification technology before a decision was taken to set up the plant at Sonsodo as a pilot project.
In fact, Margao Municipal Council officials were under the impression that the government would fund the project after GEDA had tendered the project. “We were under the impression that the government would fund the project since GEDA took the initiative and floated the tender on behalf of the civic body. Since the municipality is a semi-autonomous body, tendering of projects fall under its domain. Even in the case of the Sonsodo works executed as per the High Court directions, the works were tendered by the Margao Municipal Council,” remarked a Municipal official.
Operations at plant hinge on GSPCB clearance
MARGAO: Saying the installation of the gasification plant and machinery at Sonsodo is at the final stage, Margao Municipal officials said the plant would commence operation once the Goa State pollution Control Board (GSPCB) grants the consent to establish.
The firm has already applied to the GSPCB to grant the consent to establish, after which another application will go to the Board seeking consent to operate the plant. “It is just a matter of time that the plant will go into operation,” informed a civic official.
Sources, however, pointed out that the Margao Municipal Council had set December 19 as the deadline to inaugurate the gasification plant. However, work on the plant is still not complete in all respects. That’s not all. The operator is yet to obtain the Consent to Establish from the GSPCB.
If sources are to be believed, the plant may go into operation by February-end or in early March.
