MARGAO
The Shadow Council for Margao (SCM) has raised apprehensions that the government and the concerned authorities may misinterpret and misuse the directions of the High Court in regards to executing the job of remediating the Sonsodo legacy dump.
It alleged that unscientific shortcuts at the cost of the environment and the public exchequer maybe undertaken.
Any form of misinterpretation of the directions would be brought to the knowledge of the High Court with a demand for punitive action, the SCM warned.
Citing information obtained through RTIs, SCM convenor Savio Coutinho pointed out that the GSUDA had estimated the legacy dump to be 96,750 cubic metres, and had projected the cost of remediation to be around Rs 4-5 crores in 2016-17.
“Tenders were invited, bids were received, but the project was abandoned with the birth of the new Ministry for Solid Waste Management,” he said.
In two years, the waste dump rose to 2,31 238 cubic metres, he added.
He also revealed that the rate for bio remediation and transportation which was fixed/quoted at Rs 695 (GSUDA tender) per cubic metre in 2016, rose to Rs 1840 (GWMC tender) per cubic metre in 2018.
The petition before the High Court during that time, facilitated the government and the GWMC to successfully manoeuvre and implement their inflated proposal, Coutinho alleged.
Coutinho further revealed that according to the five bills paid to the contractor, M/s Hindustan Waste Treatment Pvt Ltd, it is claimed that 1,01,207 cubic metres of legacy waste had been bio remediated, and out of which 96,519 cubic metres was disposed in the form of RDF material and Inert/Compost/Grit.
“What is noteworthy here is that 68,579 cubic metres of Inert/Compost/Grit is claimed to have been disposed,” Coutinho said.
In a bid to explain further, Coutinho stated that if an international football ground measuring 105mt x 68mt is considered to put this quantity of 68,579 cubic metres screened material than this mound would attain a height of 9.60 mts, as high as ground plus two storey building.
