MAPUSA
The Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) has suspended the acceptance of municipal solid waste from eight local bodies for 25 days, citing major maintenance requirements and unforeseen operational constraints at its Saligao Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF), leaving the civic bodies to make alternative arrangements for waste disposal. The suspension, effective October 10, is the longest such disruption at the facility, according to GWMC managing director Harish Adconkar.
Speaking to The Goan, Adconkar said the corporation had issued similar directions in the past, but never for such an extended period of 25 days.
He clarified that waste collection from the facility’s regular catchment areas, including Saligao, Calangute and Candolim, would continue uninterrupted.
The affected local bodies include the Mapusa and Mormugao municipal councils and six village panchayats – Chimbel, Santa Cruz, Corlim, Curca, Old Goa and Merces. In its communication to the local bodies, GWMC stated that major maintenance requirements and unforeseen operational conditions had affected the plant’s normal functioning and processing capacity. The temporary suspension, it said, was necessary to ensure safe and effective operations and prevent further complications or equipment damage. With the Saligao facility unavailable to them for nearly a month, the affected local bodies will have to manage the waste generated within their jurisdictions to prevent accumulation, littering and uncontrolled disposal.
Adconkar said most of the local bodies had organic waste converters (OWCs) and would have to use them to compost wet waste during the suspension period. Others would need to put in place alternative arrangements to manage their wet waste.
The possibility of diverting the waste to the Cacora solid waste treatment plant has also been ruled out, with Adconkar stating that the facility was already operating at full capacity and could not accommodate additional waste.
GWMC has said it will communicate further instructions on the resumption of waste acceptance at Saligao after the maintenance work and corrective measures are completed.
The suspension raises concerns over the preparedness of the affected civic bodies to handle daily waste generation without access to the centralised treatment facility, particularly if alternative arrangements prove inadequate.
