the goan I network
PANAJI
Cornered by the Citizens for Sonsodo, the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Goa State Waste Management Corporation, the Margao Municipal Council agreed before the Bombay High Court at Goa not to dump fresh waste at the Sonsodo site and instead find alternate means.
The petitioners as well as the Pollution Board and the Waste Management Corporation pointed out that the MMC has already been directed to “stop dumping of fresh waste with immediate effect till the legacy dump is cleared under supervision of GWMC.”
Cornered, the MMC made a statement before the court that the aforesaid directions issued by the GSPCB will be strictly complied and in pursuance of the same, there will be no dumping of fresh waste till the legacy dump is cleared under the supervision of GWMC.
“This statement is accepted and the Margao Municipal
Council is directed to act accordingly,” the HC ruled.
“We note that till date the directions issued by the GSPCB have not been challenged by MMC and, therefore, it is imperative that the Council complies with such directions,” the HC ruled.
The MMC said it will submit a proposal to GSPCB with regard to some alternate arrangements, to which GSPCB responded that if such proposal is received, the same will be considered in accordance with law and on its own merits as expeditiously as possible.
The Goa Waste Management Corporation has also stated that they are in process of floating tenders for remediation, of the legacy dump which is the subject matter of the present petition and that the tender process will be completed as expeditiously as possible and it is expected that even the work of such remediation will commence by November, 2019.
