QUEPEM: Opposition to the transportation of Sonsoddo waste to the solid waste management (SWM) facility at Cacora has gained momentum with the Curchorem and Cacora residents pledging to fight it tooth and nail and that they would never allow the facility to become another Sonsoddo dump.
Former chairperson and councillor of Curchorem Cacora municipal Council (CCMC) Balkrishna Hodarkar said, “We are not aware of the current status of the solid waste management (SWM) facility at Cacora. We have come across the High Court order directing the Goa Waste Management Corporation to transport 20 metric tonnes of garbage from Sonsoddo to this new facility, which has been strongly opposed by the locals. But we will not allow Cacora to become a second Sonsoddo garbage dump.”
“We were informed that waste from only four talukas will be treated at the Cacora SWM facility for which we had no objection. But under no circumstances we will allow garbage from Sonsoddo to be transported to Cacora,” Hodarkar warned.
Hodarkar suspected that some politician may have misled the High Court in a bid to transport Sonsoddo garbage to the SWM facility at Cacora.
Meanwhile, Curchorem-Cacora Municipal Council has convened an emergency meeting on Monday, September 4 to discuss the matter.
A local Pradip Kakodkar alleged that since the government claimed that since Cacora SWM is a state-of-the-art facility, it might have convinced the High Court that the garbage dumped at Sonsoddo could be transported to Cacora facility.
He further alleged that the government has misguided the court and provided wrong information which has now created a controversy. Blaming the government for the present crisis, he demanded to know that when the new facility was built to treat waste generated in four talukas of Quepem, Sanguem, Canacona and Dharbandora, was there a need to transport Sonsoddo garbage to Cacora.
Kakodkar appealed to the councillors to rally behind the locals in objecting the transportation of Sonsoddo waste to Cacora SWM facility which is yet to be inaugurated.
He suggested that the CCMC should file an intervention plea in the High Court so as to inform the court on the current imbroglio.
A local Harshad Gauns Desai said, “Now the issue has cropped up with the authorities informing the court that garbage from Sonsoddo will be transported to the Cacora facility. All this is politically motivated, as the authorities want to clear garbage from Sonsoddo which is a prime location and all they want is to transport everything here in Cacora.”
Desai said, “Today we visited the Cacora facility just to get firsthand information on the current status but were stopped by the policemen in the presence of the executive magistrate.”
He said, “The manager remained mum, when questioned why a thermocol laden vehicle, which arrived from Mapusa, was allowed to enter the facility without a gate pass. To add to it, we found neither a security guard at the gate or CCTV camera installed to maintain the records and capture what was going on.”
“We will fight for justice till our last breath if the municipality fails to file an intervention petition in court,” Desai warned.
Aditya Dessai, another local said, “The facility has been constructed in an eco-sensitive zone. The facility has no permissions from the authorities concerned with regards to buffer zone and other legal formalities. We filed RTIs and found that there is no site plan or buffer zone. How can the municipality hand over the SWM facility without possessing the required documents?”
When contacted, local MLA and PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral, said, “In my constituency, I brought the SWM facility for four talukas. Recently, the High Court directed that 20 metric tonnes of waste from Sonsoddo will be transported to Cacora SWM facility. Transportation of waste from another taluka i.e. Salcete is not possible. We have not said that South Goa garbage will be transported to the Cacora facility. Before the public hearing, it was decided that waste from only four talukas will be allowed at the facility. I will attend the Curchorem-Cacora municipality’s special meeting on Monday, which will deliberate on finding a solution.”