the goan I network
MARGAO
The Goa State Pollution Control Board finally submitted its analysis report on the waste lying inside the the Sonsodo waste treatment plant. In its report, GSPCB stated that the stored waste at the plant preliminarily looks like non-segregated solid waste mixed with wet waste, garden waste, plastic waste, plastic products like gumboots, shoes, paper waste, coconut shells, etc.
The GSPCB report which was submitted to South Goa district Court further stated that directions may be issued to the unit to segregate/sieve the waste in order to separate compost and other recyclable/non- recyclable material from the dump.
The report stated that further sample of the compost can be analysed in order to identify whether it can be used for food crop or disposed in landfill.
The solid waste was also sampled for parameters like arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc, C/N ratio, pH and calorific value. Reports indicate that all analyzed parameters are well within prescribed permissible limits of the Board, except (i) nickel, where test report indicates 8.88mg/kg as opposed to standard indicator of 0.15mg/kg and (ii) C/N ratio as 8.21 as against standard indicators of 20-40.
Meanwhile, advancing arguments on Fomento’s arbitration application before the South Goa district Judge B P Deshpande, Margao municipal lawyer S Padiyar submitted that public interest will be jeopardised if the court grants relief to Fomento’s plea not to dispossess the company from the plant till payment of the termination amount of Rs 14 crore is made by the civic body and to stop the MMC from supplying waste to the plant.
Adv Padiyar said that the waste treatment plant at Sonsodo is the only waste processing facility with the Margao municipality, submitting that the interest of one lakh population inhabiting the Margao municipal jurisdiction will be affected while also dealing a blow to MMC’s solid waste management system.
“The larger public interest demands rejection of the arbitration application,” Adv Padiyar said, while saying the relief sought by the company is wholly inappropriate.
Adv Padiyar tried to impress upon the court that relief sought by Fomento is monetary in nature, adding that interim relief cannot be granted when the Arbitration Tribunal already stands constituted under the Concession Agreement between the two parties.
Adv Padiyar touched upon various aspects of the Concession agreement between Fomento and the Margao Municipal Council.
The MMC legal counsel will resume his arguments in the matter at the next date of hearing on February 13.
Meanwhile, Judge B P Deshpande handed over copies of the GSPCB report to the legal representatives of Fomento and MMC.
The GSPCB report is expected to come up for discussion at the next date of hearing. The Court had directed the GSPCB to collect samples of the waste lying inside the plant, and to come up with the findings on the nature of waste, whether it was mixed or inert.
