MARGAO, MARCH 22
Will Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat and Urban Development Minister, Joaquim Alemao keep a date with Sonsodo on March 25 as promised during their visit to the dumping site earlier this month.
While nothing much has changed at Sonsodo since March 4 visit to the dump yard by the high powered committee headed by the Chief Minister, questions are being asked in the corridors of the Civic body whether Kamat and Alemao would return to the site on March 25 to take stock of the situation.
Ask Margao Municipal Chairperson Savio Coutinho and he candidly admitted that though Fomento has begun segregation and screening of waste at Sonsodo, the slow pace of work will not help to mitigate the situation in any manner unless machinery is deployed at the site on a priority basis.
“The sieve installed at the site has segregated and screened a small portion of the waste. Considering the magnitude of the situation, the work completed so far is a small fraction”, he said.
Incidentally, Fomento had persistently made it clear to the Margao Civic body that the company would commence operations at Sonsodo in a big way after signing of the Concession agreement with the Civic body.
If the MMC Chairperson is to be believed, it will take some more time before the Concession agreement is formally signed with Fomento. “The draft agreement has been dispatched to the Municipal lawyer in Panjim for vetting. Once vetted, the draft would be returned to the Municipality for the City Fathers to ratify the same at the Council meeting”, Coutinho added.
The draft Concession agreement, if ratified by the Municipal Council, will once again be referred to the Law department or the Advocate General to take a finally look at the contents of the agreement. All this is likely to consume time and signing of the agreement may take place only next month.
Sources in the know say the Civic body would cart away the 4-5 truck load of rejects from Sonsodo in a day or two as requested by Fomento officials working at the site.
But, City Fathers in private bitterly complain over the slow pace of work at the dumping site and the failure by the high powered committee headed by the Chief Minister to put things in order.
A member of the high powered committee, Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco has already expressed his dissatisfaction over the slow pace of work at Sonsodo and the manner in which the issue is being tackled by the concerned people.
