After several setbacks, the state government is reportedly gearing up to issue a fresh tender for the fifth time for the much-anticipated solid waste treatment plant at Bainguinim. It may be recalled that the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) initially floated a tender in 2019 for a solid waste treatment plant at Bainguinim. However, due to various challenges, including bidders failing to meet the technical qualification criteria, the process lapsed.
Stating that all the processes required for the setting up of a garbage treatment plant at Bainguinim in Old Goa have been completed, Minister for Waste Management Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate reportedly said that a fresh tender for the same will be floated soon. The facility was proposed to cater to Tiswadi and the neighbouring taluka of Ponda, which have seen rapid urbanisation and development.
However, the plant could be harmful to the people. There are residential complexes, a hospital, and schools near the site. A political slugfest has erupted over the proposed waste treatment plant. BJP MLA from Cumbarjua Rajesh Faldessai has challenged the minister to start work on the plant. Incidentally, the departments of Science and Technology and Waste Management have reportedly already notified 1.7 lakh square metres of land for setting up the project.
Be that as it may, the proposed site for the waste treatment plant is not very far from the UNESCO World Heritage site at Old Goa. There are several churches at Old Goa which have historical and spiritual importance. During the just-concluded exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier, more than 80 lakh people from across the globe visited Old Goa. It is an important tourist attraction for lakhs of tourists visiting Goa.
Hence, having a garbage treatment plant in close proximity will raise a lot of issues. The putrid smell emitted from the garbage treatment plant will fill the air. There could be fire incidents just as in the case of Sonsodo. Bainguinim at Old Goa should not be the place to treat garbage generated in Panaji and the surrounding areas. It would be prudent for each constituency to have its own waste treatment facility. Or the waste treatment plant could be set up at the empty mining pits which are unutilised. Bainguinim should not be converted into another Sonsodo.
