MARGAO
With just two months to go to comply with the High Court deadline to clear the Sonsodo legacy dump, the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) is carrying out the work of remediation of the waste dump in full swing.
The contractor appointed by the GWMC has deployed additional men and machinery to expedite remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump and ensure the entire multi-crore operation is completed by February-end as per the High Court directives.
The High Court is monitoring the remediation of the Sonsodo dump in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the NGO Citizens for Sonsodo through its secretary Roque Mascarenhas. At the last date of hearing, the High Court had issued clear directions to the GWMC to complete the remediation work by February 2023.
Work on the remediation of the Sonsodo dump had resumed around November and is going on in full swing with less than two months to go for the High Court order on completion of the work.
GWMC Managing Director Levinson Martins has pointed out that work on the remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump is progressing as per the scheduled. He said while additional machinery has been deployed at Sonsodo to take the ongoing remediation work to its logical conclusion, the agency is also trying to cart away the RDF from the site to the cement factories in Karnataka. “We are in the process of transporting tonnes of RDF generated during the remediation process. Once the RDF is moved out of Sonsodo, it will give a clear picture over the work carried out by the GWMC,” he said.
Remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump was initiated by former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar after returning to power in 2017 with the support of the Goa Forward party.
The remediation work later came under the scanner of the High Court after the NGO Citizens for Sonsodo knocked the doors of the court to expedite the work and rid Sonsodo of the legacy dump.
