MARGAO
Spotted at Sonsodo in short pants after taking over the reign as Chief Minister over a decade and a half ago in 2007 in a bid to fix the garbage problem staring at the commercial capital, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat returned at the city’s waste dumping site on Friday with the same mission “ to resolve the Sonsodo imbroglio.
With Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) Managing Director Levinson Martins, Margao Municipal Chairperson Damu Shirodkar and civic officials in tow, Kamat along with son Yogiraj descended at Sonsodo on Friday to take stock of the situation with the garbage mess giving nightmares to the waste handlers as well as the powers that be.
While GWMC Managing Director Levinson Martins has promised to rid Sonsodo of the legacy dump by February 2023, the deadline set by the High Court, the Margao Municipal Council has a task cut out at Sonsodo -- how to manage the wet waste and ensure the dry waste is baled and disposed of to the GWMC designated places.
The Margao MLA must have realised to his shock and surprise that the Margao Municipality is not treating even one ton of wet waste at Sonsodo. On the contrary, the civic body is only stacking up the wet waste inside the plant for want of any treatment worth its name.
He also came across complaints from civic officials manning the treatment plant about how the civic babus delay in clearing the payments to the contractors as a result of which contractors shy away from providing machinery and other logistics to handle waste at the plant.
The GWMC MD was categorical in saying that Sonsodo would not have come to such a situation had the civic body complied with the instructions of the Corporation to handle the daily waste.
Kamat’s visit is not expected to bring about overnight changes at Sonsodo since a host of issues remain unresolved at the site, including the appointment of a contractor to treat the daily waste, repairs and maintenance of the trammels and other machinery, repair and renovation of the waste management shed and the road leading to the plant.
“We have come here to put a system in place wherein the situation at Sonsodo is monitored on a day-to-day basis. We have to monitor the amount of incoming waste and how much is being treated and baled. Since the GWMC is a nodal agency, it has been decided to visit the site every fortnight. Our next visit at Sonsodo will now be on November 25.”
He added: “At the next visit, we will review the progress of work and plan for the next fortnight before we meet again. At the last meeting on Sonsodo, we had decided to put additional baling machines and provide power connection to the shed as well as the shed taken on lease at the Nesai IDC.”
Saying the issue of dry waste will be resolved by Monday after the installation of additional baling machines, Kamat said the issue of payment of bills will be decided on priority so that contractors do not shy away from supplying heavy machinery at the site.
