MARGAO
Asserting that all is not well at the Sonsodo waste treatment plant, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai on Monday said the newly-elected Margao Municipal Council will take the bio-methanation project to its logical conclusion with the guidance of an expert agency such as the Goa Waste Management Corporation.
He, however, said that since many of the newly-elected members are first time councillors, the council will rope in environmental engineer, Sanjeev Joglekar to hold a fresh power point presentation for the benefit of the city fathers before a final decision is taken to address the burning issue.
Sardesai along with Margao Municipal Chairperson Lyndon Pereira and Goa Forward councillors descended on the Sonsodo waste treatment plant to obtain first hand information against the backdrop of recent media reports that the situation at Sonsodo has turned from bad to worse.
After inspecting the plant and an interaction with Municipal Engineer Dinisio D’Mello and Assistant Engineer Vishant Naik, the Fatorda MLA said the windrow waste treatment technology has turned obsolete and cannot cater to the Margao Municipal area, which generates around 25-30 tonnes of waste every day.
As an alternate solution, the Fatorda MLA sought to revive the bio-methanation project, which envisages installation of seven 5TPD modular plants to treat the daily waste. The GWMC had given the civic body the project report to set up the seven 5TPD plants, but somehow the project did not see light of the day. Given that the obsolete windrow technology has failed to treat the waste, we have decided to review the bio-methanation plant project with the advice of the GWMC”, he told the media.
He said a power point presentation will be arranged for the benefit of the newly-elected councillors before the project is taken up for implementation.
The MLA also issued instructions to the municipal engineers to empty the leachate tank and stop the flow of leachate in the adjoining drains. The engineers were told to get the job done by pumping the leachate in the sewerage line.
The engineers conceded that the heavy duty crane has been giving problems in handling the daily waste, with the MLA suggesting that the civic body get in touch with the company to get the spares on priority.
On the non-payment of the fees for the GWMC contractor for carting away the dumped waste inside the plant last year, the MLA said there’s a delay by the government in sanctioning the pending bills, saying the matter will be pursued at the government level.
Sardesai said since the GWMC is handling the legacy dump, issues such as leachate flowing from the dump will be addressed with the agency.
