MARGAO
Hazard a guess how much quantity of legacy waste dumped at Sonsodo over the decades has been remediated by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) and sent to the cement factories in neighbouring Karnataka?
Well, a Status report filed by GWMC at the High Court in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Citizens for Sonsodo through its Secretary Roque Mascarenhas shed light on the Sonsodo legacy waste, the waste cleared till date via remediation and the quantum of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) cleared from the Margao Municipal waste dumping site till date.
The multi-crore work of remediation of the Sonsodo legacy dump and reclamation of the site for future use under close monitoring by the High Court seemed finally nearing end. If GWMC Managing Director Levinson Martins’ affidavit and status report filed before the High Court is any indication, Sonsodo dump, admeasuring around 15,000 square metres, will be totally free from the legacy dump, stink and eyesore by December 2024.
In fact, a glance at the Status report shows that the GWMC through its contractor M/s. Hindustan Waste Treatment Pvt. Ltd. had completed the remediation work at Sonsòddo site exactly a year ago on March 20, 2023.
Figures dished out in the status report states that the total quantity of waste remediated is pegged around 1,72,179 cubic metres. The report further sheds light on the RDF disposed of by the contractor in the remediation process. In fact, the total quantity of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) disposed from the site to the cement plants in neighbouring Karnataka is pegged around 78,000 cubic metres.
What presently lies stacked at the waste dumping site, the GWMC status report, states is not the legacy waste, but the balance RDF stored and covered by tarpaulin. The report states that around 12,000 cubic metres of RDF is being sent to the cement plants as evident by the fleets of heavy vehicles transporting the waste to neighbouring Karnataka.
As per the tender conditions, Ms Hindustan Waste Treatment Pvt Ltd is mandated to complete the work of clearing the RDF from Sonsodo by December 2024.
