TEAM HERALD
It’s been over six years now, since the then Congress-led government had proposed that a modern solid waste treatment (SWT) facility be set up at Bainguinim, Old Goa. But till date as the capital and its surroundings reel under the garbage bomb, the status of the plant remains in limbo.
The sole objective of this state of art facility was to handle and treat the tonnes of garbage generated in the capital city and its surrounding areas. Despite facing severe opposition from the Old Goa residents, and partially winning the legal battle in the High Court, the government till date has not got ‘muhurta’ for this project.
Call it a lethargy on part of Government appointed sub-committee on Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), headed by then Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar, but this ambitious project never even went to the Union Urban Development Ministry’s Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) for JNNURM for approval and sanction. It was only thanks to the present Mayor Surendra Furtado, under whom CCP worked very hard and got the project sanctioned in February 2014.
“My team worked very hard to get this project sanctioned under JNNURM. It is a much needed facility to tackle the garbage issue,” Furtado said. Furtado, whose term as CCP Mayor ends on March 19, in his latest communication to the Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues, has requested him to expedite the project.
In February 2014, the Union Urban Development Ministry sanctioned almost Rs 90 crore for the Bainguinim plant under JNNURM. The utilization period for this project was 17 months from the date of sanction that is up to July, 2015.
However, this also saw a major hurdle, with the Union Ministry failing to make any budgetary provision for the project under JNNURM, leaving the CCP empty handed. The CCP, which is the nodal agency for JNNURM project for the city, has been directed by the Union Ministry to resubmit a fresh proposal for sanction under the new rules of Urban Development Mission as and when launched.
“The project has been sanctioned under JNNURM by the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) in February, last year. However, Central government failed to make the necessary provisions for the project for the financial year 2014-15,” CCP Waste Management Cell in charge Sachin Ambe told Herald.
The solid waste facility, which will be responsible for composting biodegradable waste and recycling plastics, is planned on a 1.10 lakh sqm plot. But, work on the project is yet to take off – the only bit of work that has begun is the construction of the compound wall around the plot by Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC).
The proposed integrated municipal solid waste treatment facility will be based on recovery of recyclables, segregation of waste by organic extrusion technology, bio-methanation and in-vessel composting. The proposed facility has been designed to treat 100 metric tonnes of waste per day generated in the Capital city and its surroundings.
