PROPOSAL Not in keeping with State’s Solid Waste Management policy: GWMC
the goan I network
MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council’s ambitious plan to set up two containerised mixed waste treatment plants at a cost of Rs 4 crore has not found favour with the government, with the Goa Waste Management Corporation reminding the civic body that the proposal promotes mixed waste and is not in accordance with the Solid Waste Management policy of the state.
While rejecting the proposal, Goa Waste Management Corporation Managing Director Levinson Martins further went on to remind the Margao Municipal Council that as per the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, segregation of waste and collection and transportation of segregated waste is mandatory.
While requesting the MMC to address the major non-conformity and revise the proposal in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and other statutory laws, the Corporation MD has told the MMC Chief Officer to forward the revised proposal to the Department of Municipal Administration with a request to place it before the Technical Advisory Committee for technical sanction.
The GWMC has adopted the latest stand on the MMC proposal after studying the reply submitted by the civic body to its queries.
The Corporation has observed that the proposal to set up
the 10 tonne mixed waste processing plant submitted by the civic body is for mixed waste considering 55 per cent organic waste.
Sources in the MMC informed that Chief Officer Sidhivinayak Naik is expected to discuss the rejection of the proposal with MMC chairperson Babita Prabhudesai since the proposal had received the green signal from the elected civic body.
Post the May 25 fire incident at Sonsodo, MMC had rooted to set up two 10 tonne containerized mixed waste treatment plants in the city at Margao and Fatorda to handle the waste problem plaguing the city.
In fact, the containerised plants had received a go-ahead from Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai, when he was the deputy CM stating that similar plants have been set up in none other than the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Manpower shortage: Civic body struggles to clear black spots
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council continued to struggle to keep the city free from mounds of waste as the contractor, who was told to engage 90 workers for door to door waste collection, managed to arrange only 10 workers on Tuesday, leaving no option to the Civic body, but to remove waste only from selective spots in the Margao area of the city.
The civic body now pin hopes on the labour contractor to arrange at least another 25 workers on Wednesday to help clear the black spots, which has seen mounds of waste in the last three days.
Officials in the know informed that though the labour contractor was requested to arrange 90 workers, he could engage only 10.
“We also understand that it’s difficult to arrange workers to work on garbage at short notice. But we have requested the contractor to at least arrange 25 workers to put the garbage lifting mechanism in place,” an official informed.
With the HC barring the MMC from open dumping of waste at Sonsodo and Fomento only accepting segregated waste at the treatment plant, the MMC has been found struggling to manage the mounds of mixed waste dumped at the black spots after the existing contractor abandoned the work last week.
An official in the know informed that even if the stop gap contractor manage to arrange 15 or more workers in the next 2-3 days, it will take some time for the civic body to rid the city of garbage.
