TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Finally making his presence felt at Sonsodo on Sunday, Ahmedabad-based waste management expert, P U Asnani called for synchronization of the waste treatment plant and further underlined the need to control foul odour from the plant site.
Taking stock of the solid waste management plant installed at Sonsodo by Fomento Green in the presence of Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardessai, Margao Municipal Councillors and officials, Asnani called for installing the weighing bridge, besides trommels at the site.
The waste management expert, who is expected to hold a presentation for the city fathers in the municipality on Monday, cautioned that the civic body to complete the capping of the existing site as fast as possible. He also called for setting up the landfill site on a war footing and before completion of the capping work, saying “capping will not work without the land fill site. “The landfill site should be constructed before capping. There needs proper synchronization at the site. All the agencies should work in coordination”, he said.
He called upon Fomento Green to either cut open the waste plastic bags dumped at the site or install a machinery to do the job, warning that the waste treatment process will go haywire if the waste is not opened from the plastic bags.
Incidentally, when Asnani asked Fomento Green’s CEO Sridhar Kamat on the completion of the land fill site, the latter declined to give a categorical answer, saying much would depend on the payment of bills raised by the company. “The MMC had delayed in making the payment of the first installment of Rs 1.30 crore for two long years. They have to make the payments”, Kamat added.
Interestingly, Asnani said the civic body has not entered into agreement with his company for the last two-and-half years after they were selected as the consultant to monitor the work at the site.
“Our brief was to monitor the plant so that it runs to its full efficiency and to protect the environment, but the MMC delayed signing the agreement”, he said, adding that he will wait till Monday to see whether the civic body finally signs the agreement or not.
On the compost produced by the Sonsodo plant, Asnani said he will be able to answer the question vis-à-vis the compost and other aspects of the plant only after signing the agreement with the civic body. “If the agreement is signed, our whole team will come down and ensure the plant runs efficiency. The compost will be subjected to laboratory tests”, he added.
Replying to another question, he said the Sonsodo plant follows the natural process of conversion of waste into compost. The waste passes through several stages. You can’t get the compost in 10 days. There’s a process which needs to be followed”, he added.
On the capping project, Asnani said that capping is an engineering process and the completion of the project would depend on the mobilization of men and machinery by the agencies.
The Fatorda MLA lamented that the project has been delayed for want of coordination between the civic body, Fomento Green and the consultant and hoped that the project would run in a coordinated manner.
