THE GOAN | MARGAO
Madgavkars might be led to believe that the festering garbage crisis staring at the commercial capital is finally behind them. In support of its claim, the powers that be do not stop highlighting the transformation of the notorious decades-old Sonsodo legacy dump, with a portion of the dump now playing host to an urban forest.
The problem, however, tells a different story. No doubt, the legacy dump is no more an eyesore, the dump no longer stinks as it once plagued the area, but the underlying issue of waste management remains far from resolved.
There’s still no solution for the city’s waste disposal. While the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) is collecting the waste generated in the commercial capital “ around 30 tonnes of wet waste and 20-plus tonnes of dry waste “ the same is transported to the Cacora Waste Treatment Plant at Curchorem for treatment at a great cost, throwing up a host of questions on the sustainability of the Margao waste management system.
In a nutshell, instead of treating the waste in the city, the civic body gets its waste treated at a plant located 15 kms away from the commercial capital, spending around Rs 1.5 crore annually towards waste transportation.
GWMC sounds alarm
Last month’s wake-up call by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) to the MMC is a clear indication that the Margao waste management mechanism is yet to fall into place. In a letter addressed to the MMC last month, the GWMC reminded that transportation of Margao waste to Cacora is an interim arrangement till the civic body sets up its own waste treatment facility, warning that waste transportation cannot continue forever and it’s high time the municipality set up its own plant at Sonsodo for waste treatment.
The GWMC further reminded the MMC of the submission made before the High Court on the question of setting up a bio-methanation plant at Sonsodo, and asked the civic body to take a decision and accordingly file an affidavit before the court in the matter of PIL WP 45/2019.
A March 12, 2024 High Court order had ordered the State government to intervene and address the issue of waste treatment in Margao. After Advocate General D Pangam submitted before the court that the Chief Minister-headed High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) would meet and take a decision on the establishment of a 15 TPD bio-methanation plant at Sonsodo, the High Court had observed: “We expect the HPCC to address these issues as soon as possible and issue necessary directions to the Goa Waste Management Corporation and the Margao Municipal Council.”
While disposing of the PIL filed by the Citizens for Sonsodo, the High Court issued directions to the agencies to file a status report on the issue by July 5, 2024. It will be a year now, but neither has the HPCC met to take a call on the establishment of a waste treatment plant, nor has the MMC addressed the issue of waste treatment to date.
