VASCO
Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa on Tuesday said Verna will the first village panchayat in the State to have its own Material Recovery Facility (MRF) yard and a biodigester to tackle the dry and wet waste scientifically.
He was addressing a gathering after launching the work to set up the project in the presence of Verna Sarpanch Loren Fernandes, Panchayat Secretary Narayan Azgoankar, BDO Prasiddh Naik and other panch members.
"There are many issues regarding garbage menace not only in Verna but across Goa and there are some panchayats who don't take initiatives because of lack of space. But since we have space and the sarpanch took the initiative and support of the BDO, this project has been taken up.”
“There are some areas in Verna where there are many tenants, especially from IDC Verna where we faced garbage issues. However, this is now a thing of the past and all these issues will be solved," said the MLA.
Mormugao BDO Prasiddh Naik said there were directives from the high court and NGT that every panchayat should have its own decentralised plant, including MRF and biodigesters.
"While there was garbage collection in Verna panchayat, there was no proper treatment and disposal facility. Under the initiative taken by the sarpanch, an MRF is being set up on 150 sq metres of the area to handle dry waste and this project will be ready in a month.”
“All dry and plastic waste will be baled and sent to the Saligao treatment plant. There was also an issue with wet waste collection and from January 1, wet and dry waste will be collected from every house in a segregated manner and wet waste will be scientifically treated in the biodigester that has been installed here,” said Naik.
The BDO informed that all relevant permissions for the biodigester are in the pipeline and would be approved shortly.
"No panchayat has set up a specific biodigester as yet. After installing the biodigester and if all wet waste gets treated scientifically, this will be the model panchayat in the State to have proper scientific disposal facilities.”
“This biodigester will treat wet waste and there will be no smell and the waste treated will also yield fertilizer and biogas," added Naik.
Sarpanch Loren Fernandes said the panchayat has started this eco-friendly plant and it would benefit locals and the panchayat with by-products like Gobar gas and fertilisers.
“We will also have a small kitchen garden and use the fertilisers to set an example of how wet waste can be used to our benefits," said Fernandes.
