the goan I network
MARGAO
Affirming that the government is ready to shoulder any responsibility to bail out the Margao Municipal Council from the Sonsodo imbroglio, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the government will move court with a plea to hand over the waste treatment plant either to the Waste Management Corporation or the Margao Municipal Council, even as he asserted that Fomento will be cleared of the payments as per the court order.
“The government will pay to Fomento what is being ordered by the court. We will move the court with a plea to hand over the plant either to the Waste Management Corporation or the civic body and let the payment litigation continue in court. I want to make it clear that we want to pay Fomento,” the Chief Minister told the media on the sidelines of a book release ceremony at the Ravindra Bhavan, here, on Saturday.
He said the government will request Fomento to hand over the plant either to the Waste Management Corporation or to the MMC in the interest of the city’s cleanliness. “We have no issue over the payments due to Fomento. Let the payment litigation go on and the government will make the payments as per the court order’.
He said the government is exploring all options, including the one to set up two small waste treatment plants at Sonsodo, adding that plans in this respect will be finalized in the next few days. “The Director of Municipal Administration and the Solid Waste Management Corporation in consultation with MMC will take a call. We are ready to treat the waste generated in the city. As far as dry waste is concerned, we have identified a place to install a shed for baling before dispatching the same to Karnataka,” he added.
When his attention was drawn to the MMC’s undertaking given in the court to pay Rs one lakh per day to Fomento in lieu for the treatment of waste, Sawant said the government and the municipality will file a plea at the next date of hearing allowing the authorities to run the plant and treat the waste generated in the city.
To a question, the Chief Minister said the government is fully behind the MMC to tide over the waste problem. He, however, said the government cannot take any immediate decision since the matter is in court.
