MARGAO
The Margao Municipal Council has agreed to make available land at the Sonsodo waste management site for Urban forestry scheme on condition that the project does not come in the way of waste treatment at the site in the future.
If implemented, sources said that greenery may not only return back to Sonsodo, but the tree cover may act as a buffer at the site.
A joint inspection of the Sonsodo waste dumping site was conducted by officials of the Forest, Municipal Administration and the Margao Municipal Council in the presence of Margao MLA Digambar Kamat.
The Forest officials explained the salient features of the urban forestry scheme to the Margao MLA and the Margao Civic Chief Damu Shirodkar and Municipal officials. They are believed to have insisted that land admeasuring one hectare may be made available to the Forest department to implement urban forestry scheme at Sonsodo.
The Margao MLA as well as the Margao Municipal team led by Civic Chief Damu Shirodkar made it clear that they have no objection to the urban forestry scheme per se. They, however, sounded caution that the forestry should not come up in the area, which may be used for the setting up of the waste management plant at Sonsodo.
The Margao MLA later told The Goan that the forest team was at Sonsodo to assess the feasibility of implementing the urban forestry scheme at the waste management site as per the decision of the Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane. “The forest department is asking for land admeasuring one hectare at Sonsodo to take up the urban forestry scheme. The MMC team is of the opinion that the urban forest scheme may be implemented at Sonsodo on condition that the scheme does not come in the way of setting up of a waste treatment plant at the site”, he said.
A senior forest official told the MMC team that the land in question which is used to implement the Urban forest scheme will remain in possession of the civic body.
A senior official, however, has maintained that nothing should come in the way of the future plans by the Civic body to set up a waste management plant at Sosnodo. “Right now, the land at Sonsodo may be open without any construction. But, we have requested the forest department that the trees needs to be planted at Sonsodo in such a way that there is no obstructions to plans to set up the waste treatment plant’, the official said.
