MARGAO
With the 15-member collector-appointed panel set to begin its inquiry into the issues plaguing the SGPDA’s mega retail and wholesale fish markets, one thing is clear — time is running out for the Planning and Development Authority to register itself as a bulk waste generator (BWG) and put in place a system to manage the waste generated at its mega markets.
Officials familiar with the matter said the SGPDA has limited options at its disposal: it can either establish a waste-processing facility within the market complex or segregate the waste and hand it over to the waste treatment facility at Cacora for disposal, with the permission of the Goa Waste Management Corporation.
While the 15-member panel, headed by the Margao deputy collector, will examine the entire gamut of issues confronting the PDA markets, the mounting waste crisis at the retail market has come into sharp focus following years of alleged neglect by the planning body and the authorities concerned.
The SGPDA currently has no mechanism of its own to process the waste generated at the mega markets and remains largely dependent on the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to collect and dispose of it. However, this daily arrangement has failed to provide a lasting solution to the waste problem, leaving the public and consumers to bear the brunt.
Against this backdrop, all eyes are now on the 15-member panel appointed by district collector Egna Cleetus and on how it will frame its recommendations to the SGPDA on waste management at the two mega markets.
The MMC has already issued a notice to the SGPDA directing it to register as a bulk waste generator and initiate measures for handling the waste generated at the PDA markets.
The move assumes significance as the civic body is expected to insist that the planning authority comply with the 2026 solid waste management guidelines, which place the responsibility on bulk waste generators to establish mechanisms for the proper handling and disposal of waste generated on their premises.
A senior Goa State Pollution Control Board official said the SGPDA now has to take a call on the way forward — either establish a waste-treatment facility within the market complex or segregate the waste and hand it over to the Goa Waste Management Corporation-run Cacora facility for treatment and disposal. “Alternatively, the PDA can set up its own plant at the market to treat the waste. But the PDA can no longer blame the MMC for the waste-management issues since the planning body falls under the bulk waste generator category,” the official said.
Plant revival proposal raises doubts over waste handling
MARGAO: Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Digambar Kamat’s directive to the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to revive the defunct 5TPD bio-methanation plant in the PDA market as a possible solution to the waste crisis at the mega retail market has raised several questions over the feasibility of the proposal.
The proposal to revive the plant also comes against the backdrop of the regulatory action taken by the GSPCB. More than a year ago, the pollution control board revoked the Consent to Operate granted to the SGPDA for running the plant following an uproar over allegations that the facility was discharging digested slurry into adjoining fields, raising concerns over contamination of a nearby water body.
Against this backdrop, the bigger question remains unanswered: can the bio-methanation plant actually handle the type and volume of waste generated at the mega retail market, particularly fish, meat and vegetable waste?
This is significant because the plant had reportedly refused such waste in the past and instead sought wet waste from households and hotels for its operations.
With the SGPDA now under pressure to find a sustainable solution to the waste crisis at the mega market, the proposed revival of the 5TPD plant is likely to come under scrutiny over its technical capability, environmental compliance and suitability for treating market-generated waste.
A GSPCB official said it is purely for the SGPDA to move an application to the board to revoke the Consent to Operate and issue a fresh sanction to the plant.
