the goan I network
MARGAO
The Margao Municipal Council on Monday gave its nod to extend the validity period of NIT for the outsourcing of day-to-day collection of segregated waste in the city, even as the civic body made a candid admission that it does not send segregated waste to the treatment plant set up by Fomento Green at Sonsodo.
In fact, Chief Officer Johnson Fernandes made it clear to the city fathers at Monday’s meeting that the responsibility of providing segregated waste to the treatment plant lies with the civic body, irrespective of whether the concession agreement is silent on the issue or not.
Margao Municipal Chairperson Babita Prabhudesai went a step further when she said the previous council did not do the homework before signing the concession agreement.
The Sonsodo waste management issue came up for discussion after the council deliberated on a proposal to extend the validity period of the NIT for outsourcing of the day-to-day collection of segregated waste.
Explaining the proposal, the Chairperson said that the municipality had received two bidders for door-to-door collection, but the municipal technical section did not forward the lone bid, which qualified for the tender, to the Executive Engineer, PWD, for approval. “The municipality is seeking extension of the validity period of the NIT so that the entire file goes to the Chairman of High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC). It was due to the mistake of the municipal technical section that the bid was not sent to the EE, PWD, for sanction,” she said.
When councillor Arthur D’Silva sought to know from the CO the status of the waste treatment plant, the latter replied saying the problem at the plant has partly arisen because the municipality does not give segregated waste to the plant.
When Arthur argued that the concession agreement does not make it mandatory for the civic body to provide segregated waste to the treatment plant, the CO shot back “As per the Municipal Solid Waste Management rules, we have to give segregated waste to the plant.”
Saying that the municipality needs to put proper logistics in place to tackle the waste problem, Johnson said, “When citizens were handing over segregated waste, the municipality had no mechanism to transport this waste.”
Chairperson Babita intervened in the discussions saying the council is trying to tie loose ends vis-Ã -vis Sonsodo and the Concessioner. “The municipality has formed the disputes redressal committee and has set in motion the process of signing a MoU with a consultant,” she added.
