When Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar visited Margao on Wednesday his message was loud and clear. He announced major garbage treatment plans for Salcete and Mormugao while commissioning two state of the art sewage treatment plants that will benefit Margao, Fatorda and Navelim. While giving a soothing touch to Salcete, Parrikar also promised to set up a garbage treatment plant at Verna to tackle the waste problem faced by Salcete and Mormugao. He also assured to empty the Sonsodo waste dump by December.rThe chief minister announced plans to issue a notification for the Environmental Impact Assessment study for a waste treatment plant at Cacora and has sought the cooperation of people to make Goa garbage free by 2019 while emphasizing that there ought to be no political differences on garbage redressal.rAgainst the backdrop of the huge success of state-of-the-art garbage treatment plant at the Calangute-Saligao plateau, the chief minister’s announcement may have come as a sigh of relief to the several panchayats that have been reeling under the garbage crisis. The Saligao plant, which is completely automated manages to handle over 125 tonnes of garbage coming from around 25 panchayats.rThe recent panchayat election saw several candidates giving top priority to garbage disposal in the village. Priorities had shifted to garbage disposal from a common development plank with which candidates approached voters earlier. Garbage has been on top of everybody’s mind in the south and the new crop of grassroot workers had spoken loud and clear. The intentions were clear that tackling the dreaded garbage menace was a top priority. But soon results came and new local bodies took shape. Nothing much seemed to have changed on the ground over the years even as local bodies continued with their struggle to get rid of their wet garbage. Goa Pollution Control Board may have taken the responsibility of handling dry waste, but the initiative has fallen far short of requirement with panchayats facing a severe manpower crunch to handle the job.rNow, everything looks well laid out on paper. Three more treatment plants, one more in North Goa and one each in Curchorem and Verna are in the pipeline. But the proposed plans are a distant dream and may take over three years to take shape if all goes well. What about the interim period where garbage has been piling on with each passing day? Plans such as these cannot help in providing an immediate solution to a pressing problem. It will be a long wait and the government should work out some interim measures. The Pollution Control Board initiative needs fine-tuning and more manpower is needed on the job. Panchayats need a helping hand.
