Pratik Parab
A proposal for outsourcing the garbage collection and disposal system of Margao has been prepared and sent for technical clearance at the Public Works Department’s (PWD) Principal Chief Engineer’s office. The Margao Municipal Council (MMC) is also in the process of sending the same proposal to the Directorate of Municipal Administration for funds for the project. The Council is monitoring the day to day progress of these proposals and is also planning to convene a special meeting to decide and solve the bottlenecks in the tendering process.
The outsourcing has been made inclusive of collection and segregation of the garbage and also transportation from the source to the plant. The outsourcing had already been proposed in a High Power Sub-Committee meeting two and half years ago. Now the monies and the efforts required for the job has doubled. Experts in the field opined that getting a contractor for such huge operations in Goa is difficult and there is a strong possibility of people outside Goa eyeing the tender.
Margao creates 48 to 50 metric tonnes of non-segregated and highly unmanaged garbage every day. To handle the menace, the apex High Power Committee met on 20th July and stressed on the outsourcing of the garbage collection of Margao town. Subsequently, the MMC made a proposal for the same.
In addition to this, the contractor will be responsible for collection of the money from the source and the Municipality will only take care of fuel expenses that the contractor incurs. The Fomento Green plant at present has a capacity of handling 75 tonnes of garbage per day.
The MMC after handing over of the garbage collection to the Self Help Groups has increased the efficiency of collection as well as saving 12 lakh rupees per month in salaries which the MMC paid to daily wage workers.
However, the Election Code will be in force from 25th September and some of the officers say that it will be too difficult to get the outsourcing tendered by then due to the lengthy procedure.
Experts also claim that awarding the tender to a single contractor will create a monopoly and will give complete liberty to the contractor to hold the MMC hostage to get his interests passed. “There is a need of at least 3 contractors for the collection of garbage so that the MMC is on the safer side and is immune to any breakdown of the collection system in the future,” said one of the experts.
Moreover, the project may only come to reality during the next council’s stint as there is hardly a month left for the present council to step down.
