The opposition to the expansion of the waste management plant at Saligao needs to be examined from all angles. For starters, the people have a natural worry that any expansion may lead to the area around the plant turning into a dump yard for garbage. This fear stems from the fact that most government programmes, schemes and projected have often not delivered what was promised. They have been failures. There is, therefore, this feeling that this too can be a failure, with people comparing it to the current situation at Sonsoddo. The difference, however, is that while waste at Saligao is being treated, there is no treatment at Sonsoddo. Quite clearly, the Saligao treatment plant cannot turn into another Sonsoddo.
One of the fears expressed at the meeting on Saturday to oppose the expansion, is that the air will get polluted if plastic is burnt here and and incinerator is set up, which could force people to leave the village. If plastic is burnt at this plant, then Herald too opposes the expansion. This if no means of tackling the menace of plastic, and the people have to appreciate the fact that burning of plastic is not the manner in which the plant operates. Currently, the dry waste is being sent to cement factories, and the wet waste is being treated here.
Precautions, however, have to be taken by the plant, and so too the panchayats that send garbage to the plant. There can be timings set for the trucks to come to the plant that do not coincide with school opening and closing timings, so that children are not met with the sight of garbage trucks and leachate spilling on the road. There are valid points raised by the villagers opposing the expansion, including that all dumps inside and outside the plant be cleared, and that all vehicles entering the plant be fitted with GPS trackers and leachate tanks. The government has to meet some of the demands of the people.
A day before the protest on the expansion, the plant’s authorities had said that anybody was free to visit the plant and check out its functioning for themselves. That is an invitation that should be taken at face value and people should go ahead and inspect the plant for any malfunction. Why not call the plant management’s bluff, if it is that? Since the plant’s authorities are ready to open up, why not grab the opportunity? If on inspection the people do find that any established process is not being followed, then the plant’s management has to be pulled up. It could actually lead to them falling in line, if they have stepped out.
The fact, however, is that the expansion of the plant appears to be inevitable, simply because the quantity of segregated waste arriving at the plant has increased. The number of panchayats that are sending waste to the plant has not increased, but the collection process at the village level has improved which has resulted in collection of more segregated waste. If the plant’s capacity is not increased, where will the waste that is being collected be treated? Will it be dumped some place? This is exactly what Goa does not want, and if every village opposes a waste management plant, how will the garbage in Goa ever get treated?
Goa definitely needs more garbage treatment plants if it is to tackle its waste in a scientific manner and not having it dumped at any available open space. But the State cannot, as suggested by some, have one plant for each village. That would just not be feasible. Consider this: every morning there are 15 to 20 tankers with night soil from the Bardez coastal area that line up at Tonca in Panjim, waiting to empty their contents into the sewage treatment plant there. What would happen if the residents of that area were to oppose this? Where would the sewage be treated, or would it be released into water bodies?
While Saligao faces this problem, the Bainguinim treatment plant is also halted as opposition to it continues. The choice is between a waste management plant and the open dumping of garbage at any available place. The choice is with the people. It is they who will decide. What is required is healthy debate in an enviroment where all views are freely expressed, and discussed. Can this be done?
