Sonsodo gasification plant stuck in limbo

The 10-tonne gasification plant installed at Sonsodo.

MARGAO
In a strange turn of events, the ambitious 10-tonne gasification waste treatment plant expected to address the issue of mixed waste generated at garbage black spots in the commercial capital is yet to take off.

The pilot project, set up by the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) and tendered by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) at an estimated cost of Rs 7.5 crore, was scheduled to be commissioned in late December 2025. However, the plant continues to await the mandatory Consent to Establish from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).

A visit to the Sonsodo waste management site reveals that the Pune-based contractor has already installed the pre-fabricated plant inside the shed at the facility, in accordance with the tripartite agreement between the contractor, MMC and GEDA.

Sources said the MMC has already released the first instalment of Rs 1.5 crore to the contractor — approximately 35 per cent of the total capital cost of the project.

The 10-tonne gasification plant has been lying idle at the Sonsodo site for nearly two months. Even trial runs have not been conducted due to the absence of the required clearance from the Pollution Control Board.

Sources further indicated that it may take additional time before the civic body can formally inaugurate the pilot project, as the MMC will also have to approach the GSPCB again to obtain the Consent to Operate once the initial clearance is granted.

According to MMC officials, the council had approached the GSPCB seeking Consent to Establish more than a month ago.

The gasification plant was tendered by GEDA on behalf of the Margao Municipal Council last year. While it was initially understood that the State government would bear 50 per cent of the project cost, the MMC has now been asked to make the payments upfront, with the government assuring that a grant will be sanctioned at a later stage.

Questions over limited capacity of plant

Even as the commissioning of the 10-tonne gasification plant at the Sonsodo waste management site continues to face delays, fresh questions have surfaced over the rationale behind installing a facility with limited capacity when the city generates a much higher volume of dry waste every day.

Sources indicated that the commercial capital generates around 25 tonnes of dry waste daily. However, the gasification plant installed at Sonsodo has a capacity to process only 10 tonnes of dry waste, raising concerns over whether the facility will be able to adequately address the city’s waste management requirements.

At present, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) is baling the dry waste generated in the city before transporting it to the Cacora waste management plant for further processing. In the past, the baled waste was also transported to cement manufacturing companies in neighbouring Karnataka, where it was used as an alternative fuel.

With the commissioning of the gasification plant expected to process only a fraction of the city’s dry waste, questions are being raised over how the remaining waste will be handled once the facility becomes operational.

Civic observers point out that unless additional capacity is created, the MMC may still have to rely on transporting a significant quantity of dry waste outside the city for disposal or processing, thereby continuing the existing logistical and financial burden on the civic body.

Concerns over disposal of ash generated by plant

Meanwhile, questions are also being raised over the disposal mechanism for the ash that will be generated by the gasification plant once it becomes operational.

Sources said the Pune-based company that has installed the plant is expected to set up a brick-making unit at the Sonsodo site to utilise the ash generated during the gasification process. The ash is reportedly proposed to be used as raw material in the manufacture of construction of bricks.

However, it remains unclear whether the necessary infrastructure for the brick-making unit has already been set up at the site or whether it will be installed only after the gasification plant is commissioned.

The issue has also raised concerns about whether the Margao Municipal Council and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will insist on the company putting the required systems in place for ash utilisation before granting the final approvals for the plant’s operation.

Crores spent moving waste, Margao yet to decide on wet waste treatment facility

File photo of trucks transporting Sonsodo waste to Cacora.

MARGAO: Even as the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) awaits clearance from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to grant Consent to Establish the gasification plant at the Sonsodo waste management site, the civic body appears to have made little progress in putting a comprehensive mechanism in place to treat the nearly 30 tonnes of wet waste generated daily in the commercial capital.

In the absence of a full-fledged waste treatment facility at Sonsodo, the MMC has been transporting the city’s wet waste to the Cacora waste management plant for processing. Officials said that the transportation exercise has been continuing for months, involving significant expenditure. In the process, the civic body is believed to have spent crores of rupees on the transportation and handling of wet waste to the Cacora facility over the last two years.

The continued absence of a wet waste treatment plant at Sonsodo assumes significance, particularly in light of directions issued earlier by the High Court to the Margao Municipal Council to establish a bio-methanation plant at the site for scientific treatment of wet waste generated in the city.

The court had also directed the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) on Sonsodo — headed by the Chief Minister — to convene a meeting of all stakeholders and take an early decision on the proposed bio-methanation project. The proposed facility was seen as a crucial step towards addressing the long-standing waste management challenges faced by the commercial capital.

However, sources indicated that the High Court’s directions have largely remained on paper so far. The HPCC is yet to convene a meeting to deliberate on the matter, while the Margao Municipal Council too has not shown any visible urgency in moving forward with the proposed project.

Observers point out that the continued dependence on transporting wet waste to Cacora is not a sustainable long-term solution. Apart from the financial burden on the civic body, the arrangement has raised concerns in the event the operation of the Cacora waste treatment plant comes to a halt.

Environmental activists and residents have repeatedly stressed the need for Margao to establish its own waste treatment infrastructure at Sonsodo. They argue that localised processing of waste through facilities such as bio-methanation plants would significantly reduce transportation costs, improve waste segregation practices and help the city comply with solid waste management norms.

With the gasification plant at Sonsodo still awaiting regulatory clearance and the proposed bio-methanation project yet to move beyond the planning stage, the city’s waste management system continues to rely heavily on temporary arrangements — leaving the larger question of a permanent solution unresolved.