MARGAO
Goa Waste Management Corporation’s undertaking to the High Court to complete bio-remediation of the Margao Municipal Council-owned Sonsodo legacy dump should ring in good news as it promises to finally bring about a turnaround and rid the site of the eyesore and stink.
Sadly, a solution to treat the day-to-day waste generated in the commercial capital has eluded the Margao Municipal Council (MMC). The civic body is struggling to handle the daily wet waste for want of a mechanism to treat it. The garbage from the commercial capital is sent to the Saligao waste treatment plant almost daily. And, if sources are to be believed, the MMC is anxiously waiting for the official commissioning of the Cacora waste treatment plant, hoping the new plant which is set up to handle the waste of Quepem, Canacona and Sanguem talukas, will bail out Margao.
Otherwise, consider this. It’s now exactly three years since the civic body had taken over the Sonsodo waste treatment plant from Fomento Green, but the municipality has not treated even a single tonne of waste at the plant to date.
All plans finalized by the government and MMC to run the plant have failed to take off. Resultantly, waste has piled up inside the shed over the last three years. The GWMC had twice carted out the piled-up waste by spending crores of rupees in the last three years. Presently, the Sonsodo shed is full to the brim for want of treatment of the daily waste.
Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that all the proposals mooted by MMC to bring about a turnaround at Sonsodo in the last year have failed to take off. None of the proposals has reached the stage of tendering for want of an administrative nod from the government.
The plan to rope in a private contractor to treat the daily wet waste is stuck in red tape. The proposal to refurbish the Sonsodo shed, which collapsed twice last year, has not got the government’s nod. That’s not all. Plans to repair the approach road to the Sonsodo plant had also hit a roadblock, all on account of the delay by the government to accord administrative nod.
A senior civic official conceded in private that the government’s delay in giving administrative approval for the three proposals has cost the municipality dearly. “All three projects, to engage a private contractor to handle the wet waste, refurbish the plant shed and repair the road are multi-crore projects. The MMC has no problem with funds with the civic body flush with funds received under the 14th & 15th Finance Commissions. But, these works could not take off for want of the government’s administrative nod,” the official added.
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The road leading to the Sonsodo waste management is craving attention.
Questions raised over Monserrate's promise of turnaround at Sonsodo
MARGAO:
When Waste Management Minister Atanasio Monserrate descended at Sonsodo on April 26, 2022, after taking over office, he held out a promise that Sonsodo would witness a turnaround after 18 months, assuring to set up two 25TPD bio-digesters to handle the commercial capital waste.
Around 10 out of the 18 months deadline set by the minister has gone by and the situation has only aggravated.
After a meeting with the local MLAs, Digambar Kamat, Vijai Sardesai and Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, besides Margao Municipal Council (MMC) officials and Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC), Monserrate unveiled plans to set up two 25TPD bio-digesters at Sonsodo as part of a long-term solution, even announcing the bio-digesters proposed at Sonsodo will be a mini-Saligao plant run by the GWMC. He had even promised that the GWMC will take over the entire solid waste management at Sonsodo.
During his interaction with the media, Monserrate had confidently stated: “Be rest assured, the Sonsodo imbroglio will be resolved within 18 months."
“I have not come here for a photo shoot, but to find a permanent solution. After today’s meeting, I want to assure the people that a permanent solution in the form of two 25TPD plants will be in place within 18 months” he said.
Already 10 months gone, questions are being raised about whether the two 25TPD bio-digesters can see the light of day at Sonsodo in the coming months.
GWMC officials in private say the corporation initiated a host of measures, including estimates to put systems in place. Sadly, officials said GWMC could not take it forward for want of MMC approvals.
