Councillors raise a host of serious questions over efficacy of the technology in resolving waste dump
the goan I network
MARGAO
Two days after 17 City Fathers returned home from Bangalore disappointed with the Black Hole technology, the Margao Municipal Council on Friday dumped the technology after the councillors raised a host of serious questions over the efficacy in resolving the Sonsodo waste.
At the Council meeting on Friday, one of the councillor even remarked that the Black Hole technology plant at Bangalore is nothing but a flour mill. Senior councillor Doris Texeira even went to the extent of saying that had not the 17 councillors gone to Bangalore for an inspection of the plant, the technology would have by now received a nod from the civic body.
The councillors even maintained how obstacles were deliberately created in the civic body to prevent them from going to Bangalore to gain firsthand experience of the plant run by the Black Hole
technology.
Margao Municipal Council Chairperson, Babita Prabhudesai, however, pointed out that there was neither a hidden hand responsible to thrust the technology on the civic body nor was the civic body pressurised by the
powers that be to accept the technology.
The councillors pointed out that the patent holder was made to give a power-point presentation on the technology to the City Fathers and citizens when the councillors had all along been insisting that the technology should first get the nod from expert agencies such as the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Department of Science and Technology.
Councillors, including Arthur D’Silva, Doris Texeira, Avinash Shirodkar and others were categorical in saying the plant they have seen at Bangalore is not at all suited for Sonsodo. “The plant was not in operation when we reached Bangalore,” Arthur said, even as councillor Doris virtually said the technology would have received the nod from the civic body had not the 17 councillors insisting on going to Bangalore for an inspection. Councillor Raju Hadlee Shirodkar demanded to know why only two councillors had gone to Bangalore when the Chairperson ought to have taken the entire team.
Left with no other option, Chairperson Babita announced that the proposal is dropped by the civic body, adding that the Municipality will now look out for other options to resolve the existing dump yard. “We have not yet taken any decision how to go about in tackling the existing waste at Sonsodo,” Babita later replied.
When asked how the Margao civic body thought of giving a try to the Black Hole technology at Sonsodo when no Expression of Interest was floated by the civic body inviting parties to set up such a plant, Babita said the patent holder had approached the government to implement the Black Hole technology at Sonsodo before they gave a proposal to the civic body.
