MARGAO
In a major development on the Sonsodo imbroglio, the High Court on Wednesday issued directions for the treatment of at least 20 metric tonnes of wet waste from the Margao Municipal Council at the Cacora waste treatment plant from September 1 on a daily basis, if necessary, as part of its trial runs, given that the state-of-the-art facility has been set up for this purpose, saying “as it is, this plant requires waste for treatment and trial runs.”
Margao Municipal legal counsel S D Padiyar further stated before the High Court that 20 metric tonnes of wet waste will now be sent to the Cacora plant from August 31 and the balance 10 metric tonnes will be sent to the Saligao plant. Presently, the MMC has been transporting 28-30 tonnes of wet waste from Sonsodo to the Saligao waste treatment plant given that the Sonsodo waste management shed is saturated with piled up waste.
The High Court’s directions were pronounced while hearing the public interest litigation filed by the Citizens for Sonsodo through its Secretary Roque Mascarenhas pertaining to the wet waste management at Sonsodo. The High Court has also urged the government to consider formal inauguration of the Cacora Solid Waste Management Plant at an early date, particularly now that facilities for virtual inauguration are easily available and routinely used.
Meanwhile, however, the operations must commence at this waste management plant for treating the waste from the MMC, the High Court directed.
Referring to the government directions in the order dated 11th July, 2023 in respect of the transportation of wet waste of 30 MTs to the plant at Saligao, which is at a distance of about 45 km from Sonsodo, the High Court observed “this transportation involves considerable costs. The treatment of such transported waste at Saligao strains the capacity of the Saligao plant. The plant at Saligao caters to the treatment of waste, mainly, in the district of North Goa”.
“In contrast, the Cacora plant, a state-of-the-art plant, was established mainly to treat the waste from the South Goa district. This plant is at a distance of about 15 km from Sonsodo. This plant is ready, going by the reply before the Legislative Assembly. The treatment of waste from within the jurisdiction of MMC is an absolute necessity. Overstrain on the facilities at the Saligao plant would also not be proper,” the Court observed.
Saying the transportation costs from Margao to Cacora would also be considerably lesser as compared to the costs for transportation from Margao to Saligao, the High Court said, “If the machinery at the Cacora plant is not used within its defect liability period or for long periods, there are bound to arise avoidable complications for repairs and maintenance. Public finances have gone into the establishment of the Cacora plant. Therefore, it is only appropriate that the Cacora plant is used to treat the waste from MMC immediately. The formal inauguration can always be held whenever convenient. But given the dire necessity, operations at the Cacora plant cannot be delayed any further for this reason.”
The Advocate General submitted that the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) will transport the 20 MTs of wet waste from within the jurisdiction of MMC to the Cacora Solid Waste Management Plant through their own specialised vehicles. The Advocate General, however, has submitted that the MMC will have to pay for such transportation.
“The MMC will obviously, have to pay for such transportation to the GWMC. However, pending the actual payments, the GWMC should start from 31st August, 2023 the work of transportation and treatment of this wet waste within the jurisdiction of the MMC so that treatment of such waste can start from the 1st of September 2023”, the High Court further observed.
The High Court further observed: “In the State of Goa, there are serious problems relating to solid waste management. The issue of solid waste management at Sonsodo is one of the most serious issues, which has literally been hanging fire for the last several years. There is legacy waste at this site, which is yet to be cleared. There is hardly any place at this site to handle the waste of about 35 MTs generated within the jurisdiction of MMC on a daily basis. The Sonsodo site can be a source of serious health hazards. The site has witnessed several fires and leakages of leachate in the past.”
