MARGAO
Guess the status of Margao Municipal Council’s (MMC) ambitious project to get the bulk waste generators in the commercial capital to treat the waste generated within the premises instead of sending it to the defunct Sonsodo waste management shed for treatment.
Well, struggling to put a waste disposal mechanism in place and with Sonsodo coming under the High Court scanner, the MMC is giving yet another try to identify the bulk waste generators doting the city in a bid to mandate them to treat waste generated within their premises by setting up composting or bio-methanation units or pay extra fees to the civic body for lifting the wet waste.
After the exercise of getting together the bulk waste generators came a cropper two years ago for lack of will to implement the concept, the MMC is now on the job to identify the hundreds of bulk waste generators.
Notices have gone to around 100-odd directing the housing societies, hotels and others to set up wet waste treatment processing units in their premises.
They have been directed to set up either composting units or bio-methanation plants within their premises at their own cost for treating bio-degradable waste from their premises within 30 days from the date of issue of this notice.
The exercise which was started during the brief stint of outgoing Chief Officer Srinet Kothwale, has told the bulk waste generators that the biodegradable waste generated from the said premises is being handed over to MMC which violates the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and Municipal Bye-Law.
The MMC notices now mandate the bulk waste generators to set up treatment units within the premises at their own cost for treating the bio-degradable waste.
So far, some of the housing societies have replied to the notices, contending that they do not come under the bulk waste generators.
A senior municipal official told The Goan that MMC is going about the work systematically to ensure this waste does not find its way to Sonsodo.
"Right now, the civic body has identified around 122 bulk waste generators. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Identification of the bulk generators is an ongoing process. More such generators would be added to the list depending on the reports submitted by the site supervisors,” the official said.
He added: “With some of the housing societies insisting they do not come under bulk waste generators, the Chief Officer will now hold a hearing with the parties before taking a call on how to go about getting the bulk generators to set up the treatment unit."
The official, however, hastened to add that the bulk waste operators will be given an option to choose from, either set up their own composting or bio-methanation unit; join hands with other operators to set up a common facility or pay the municipality the prescribed fees, if they do not at all want to set up the unit.
Officials in the know in private said that MMC should at least get the government institutions, including the SAG-owned Nehru stadium, KTC bus stand, the SGPDA markets, district Collectorate, Ravindra Bhavan, Power department, Konkan Railway Corporation, canteens run in government premises, educational institutions etc to set up the treatment unit before gradually bringing the housing societies under this ambit.
WHO IS A BULK WASTE GENERATOR?
Who’s a Bulk Waste Generator, is a question being asked by members of housing societies and government-run institutions as the Margao Municipal Council is set in motion the process of declaring the waste generators as bulk in the commercial capital...
- As per the Bye-Laws "Bulk Waste Generator" means any person having an average wet waste generation rate exceeding 25 kilograms per day or 1,000 kilograms of garden or horticulture waste per month
- It includes owner and occupier of house/flat, housing society, restaurant, hotel, market, industrial estate, shopping complex/mall, building occupied by the State or Central government, local body, public sector undertaking, a private company, hospital, nursing home, school, college, university, other educational institution, hostel, commercial establishment, place of worship, stadia and sports complex, club, gymkhana, marriage hall, recreation/entertainment complex, etc
- As per the rules, the bulk waste generators shall apply for permission from the Council for installing within its premises wet waste processing units such as bio-methanation, vermicomposting, microbial composting or any other appropriate processing system approved by the Council to process, treat and dispose of the organic waste generated in their premises
