MARGAO
Three months after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant inaugurated the Rs 7.5-crore, 10-tonne-per-day (TPD) gasification plant at Sonsodo, the larger question confronting Margao remains unanswered: when will the commercial capital get its own comprehensive waste treatment facility?
At the inauguration on April 23 last, the Chief Minister had candidly acknowledged that Margao could claim to have achieved a permanent solution to its waste management crisis only after establishing an independent and comprehensive waste treatment system.
His admission reflected the ground reality—that despite the commissioning of the gasification plant, the city continues to remain dependent on external facilities for the treatment of its municipal waste.
The Chief Minister's views were echoed by Margao MLA and PWD Minister Digambar Kamat and Fatroda MLA Vijai Sardesai, both of whom stressed that the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) should develop its own waste management infrastructure instead of relying on the Goa Waste Management Corporation's treatment facility at Cacora.
Exactly three months later, however, little appears to have changed. While claims and counterclaims over the performance and effectiveness of the gasification plant at Sonsodo took centre stage in the last few days, the more fundamental issue has remained conspicuously absent from public discourse -- Has the government prepared any concrete roadmap for establishing a full-fledged waste treatment plant for Margao? More importantly, what steps, if any, have been taken to comply with the directions of the High Court?
As the city continues to generate increasing quantities of municipal waste every day, the need for an independent waste treatment facility has never been more urgent. Until the proposed bio-methanation plant and an integrated waste management system become a reality, Margao's claim of having achieved a solution to its waste problem will remain incomplete.
HC directions on
garbage plant
gone abegging?
The question assumes greater significance in the light of explicit directions issued by the High Court on March 12, 2024. While disposing of the Public Interest Litigation filed by the Citizens of Sonsodo, the Court had directed the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC), headed by the Chief Minister, to issue necessary directions to the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) and the Margao Municipal Council for establishing a 15-tonne bio-methanation plant in Margao.
The High Court had also fixed July 5, 2024, as the deadline for filing an affidavit-cum-status report detailing the progress made towards setting up the facility. More than two years later, those directions remain largely on paper.
Information indicates that the HPCC has not convened even a single meeting to deliberate on the implementation of the High Court's order. Equally significant is the fact that no affidavit or status report on the proposed bio-methanation plant has been filed before the High Court till date, raising serious questions over compliance with judicial directives.
The absence of a dedicated waste treatment plant has meant that the Margao Municipal Council continues to transport more than 30 tonnes of wet waste every day to the Cacora treatment facility. The arrangement, apart from being logistically inefficient, has become a significant financial burden on the civic body, with transportation costs alone exceeding Rs 14 lakh every month.
Municipal officials admit that the expenditure is recurring and avoidable if Margao develops its own waste processing infrastructure. With waste generation expected to rise in tandem with the city's growing population and commercial activity, dependence on Cacora can only become more expensive and operationally challenging in the years ahead.
High Court’s observation
and directions issued
on March 24, 2024
“In so far as the balance work, like repair to various types of equipment or establishment of 15TP Bio Methanation at the Sonsodo site or making operational the 5TPD bio-methanation plants near the SGPDA market at Margao, is concerned, the learned AG stated that the High Powered Committee (HPC) would meet and take a decision on these issues. Accordingly, we expect the HPC to address these issues as soon as possible and issue necessary directions to the GWMC and MMC. The MMC must file a status report/affidavit on this issue by July 5, 2024”.
