MARGAO
Will the Director of Municipal Administration Dr Tariq Thomas seek a report from the government-appointed administrator at the Margao Municipal Council on the status of the Sonsodo waste treatment plant, with major operations at the site virtually coming to a standstill?
Officials in the know say the situation at the Sonsodo treatment plant has been going from bad to worse, with sources saying the current situation will further drain the civic coffers just because of the indifference of the babus ruling the civic body.
Otherwise, consider this. Margao Municipal Council Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes had made his presence felt at Sonsodo exactly a month ago, on November 25 to be precise, after The Goan highlighted the state of affairs at the plant.
After his return from the plant site, the Chief Officer put up a note to the MMC technical section headed by engineer, Diniz D’Mello, containing the observations during his visit to Sonsodo.
In the note, the Chief Officer highlighted as many as 11 shortcomings and suggestions to tide over the situation at Sonsodo, with specific instructions to the municipal technical section.
The ground reality, however, remains unchanged. Chief Officer Agnelo was candid in admitting that nothing much has changed at the Sonsodo waste treatment plant during the last one month, with neither the crane repaired to date nor the trammels put in place.
While the civic body is believed to have cleared the access to the waste treatment plant facility just last week, not all the waste surrounding the plant has been lifted and disposed of to date.
One specific observation made by the Chief Officer was that the trammels of the plant need urgent repairs, including palfinger grabs, saying oil from the grab has been leaking affecting the functioning of the trammels. The grab is still lying idle inside the plant for want of repairs and the situation has affected the functioning of the trammels.
“I am aware of the fact that most of the shortcomings observed at Sonsodo plant have still not been addressed by the officials concerned. I will get a status report from the technical section,” the Chief Officer said.
With the Margao municipality no more ruled by the elected body after the five-year tenure of the present council ended on November 4 last, sources in the know say that the government-appointed administrator, Prasanna Acharya, should immediately crack a whip against erring officials for dereliction of duties pertaining to the Sonsodo plant.
“Since the MMC is now ruled by an administrator, the DMA Dr Tariq Thomas should get a status report on the Sonsodo plant immediately. The MMC has received a bill of Rs 85 lakh from the contractor for shifting thousands of tonnes of waste from the plant for remediation. Even before the bill is awaiting clearance till date, the plant is again choked with untreated waste, which may put an additional financial burden on the civic body to clear it,” remarked an official.
