the goan I network
MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council’s proposal to give a nod to the government to implement the Black Hole technology to clear mounds of Sonsodo waste was stumped by the City Fathers on Tuesday, with the councillors cutting across political affiliations demanding that the project promoter first hold a PowerPoint presentation before any decision is adopted by the civic body.
In fact, Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Babita Angle Prabhudesai, who mooted the proposal to decide about implementing the Black Hole technology to treat the existing waste and clear the Sonsodo waste, found no support from the rest of the City Fathers, who raised strong reservations about the technology. They wondered whether the Black Hole technology can clear the existing waste mound at Sonsodo, comprising of mud, glass, metal, plastic, etc.
The Municipal Chairperson’s proposal to recommend to the Director of Municipal Administration to implement the Black Hole technology found no takers, with apprehensive councillors demanding that the project promoter should first hold a PowerPoint presentation for the benefit of the City Fathers, citizens, media and civil society. The councillors, including Doris Texeira and Avinash Shirodkar demanded that the civic body also invite officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and Science and Technology, before taking a final decision on the issue.
Councillor Rupesh Mahatme even went to the extent of saying that the samples of the Sonsodo waste should be taken to Bengaluru to ascertain whether the Black Hole technology is suited to meet the Sonsodo requirement. Councillor Raju Hadlee Shirodkar demanded to know why the councillors were not ferried to Bengaluru to have a first-hand experience of the Black Hole technology, demanding that interested councillors should be taken to Bengaluru before taking any decision. “We had a bitter experience since the time when the Council had handed over the Sonsodo site to Komex International to solve the waste imbroglio. The civic body ought to be cautious now and take a decision only after a PowerPoint presentation and after obtaining opinion from expert agencies such as GSPCB,” Mahatme said.
Chairperson Babita later told the media that the councillors were justified in expressing their strong reservations given that the Sonsodo dumpyard plays host to all kinds of waste, right from mud to plastic, rubber and metal. “The Black Hole technology appears best suited to dispose of kitchen waste generated on a daily basis. What we are interested is how to get rid of the Sonsodo waste. Let the project promoter inspect the Sonsodo yard and also hold a PPP for the councillors, civil society, media and citizens at large,” Babita said.
“I also have some reservations how the promoter will take care of the ceramic ash and the tar generated during the incinerating process. When we visited Bengaluru, we found that the five ton plant did not generate power as promised. The promoter, however, said the power generation plant will be set up in due course of time,” she said, while saying she has no problem if discussions are held in a free, fair and transparent manner before a decision is taken by MMC.
