Team Herald
MAPUSA: Stating that the Goa Solid Waste Plant at Saligao is one of the most expensive garbage plants in the world, Director of Goa Foundation, Dean D’Cruz said that the Foundation will approach the High Court against the move for its expansion as it failed on all fronts.
Alleging that the plant is ten times the cost of a composting plant having a similar capacity and only five percent of the waste coming into the plant is recyclable, Dean said it has been confirmed by Atanasio Monserrate that 20 sewage tankers come from the Saligao plant to the St Inez sewage plant, which is illegal as per the Solid Waste Management (SWM) new rules and is a clear sign that the plant is failing since it is unable to treat its sewage.
He had made several written complaints to the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) last year. His last complaint was made on November 8, 2018 wherein he alleged that environment pollution is caused due to the operation of the Solid Waste Management Plant at Saligao.
Dean, who is also the vice-president of Saligao Comunidade highlighted that around 20 to 30 tonnes of garbage is going out from the plant daily early morning. As a member of the High Court appointed Monitoring Committee, Dean said he has been visiting the Saligao plant and found that it was not working as per the contracted agreement with the government.
“In a meeting held on October 25 last year, it was decided that a criminal complaint should be filed for the illegal dumping of garbage outside the plant. The garbage from Aradi, Candolim dump was moved outside the plant compound. It started with 50,000 tonnes outside the plant and then 35 to 40k tonnes were brought and dumped from Candolim illegally. Taking fresh garbage and dumping it outside is a criminal act. It was also noticed that the operator has started land filling up to ground level height without keeping sufficient area for soil cover. The inaction is making us doubt the performance of the waste management plant and we may be compelled to take the matter to court yet again,” warned Dean.
The plant should not be further expanded as it is not functioning properly and nothing is recycling. The quality of the compost produced has very little nutritional value as all the organic juices were squeezed out of it. The compost mainly consists of dry fibres, crushed glass and inorganic particles and there are barely any takers for it. The plant was supposed to produce bio waste and electricity, he said.
“In the first place only sorted garbage should be brought to the plant. Every day the plant is sending sewage tankers to Tonca and Panjim which should stop. Most garbage coming to the plant is transported in trucks to the cement plants in Karnataka. According to the SWM Rules, every colony that produces more than 120 tonnes of garbage daily should treat its own garbage. They are not following the rules and hence pressure on the plant. There is a need to install GPS on trucks to check their location,” Dean added.
He opined that the proposal of a plastic incineration plant at Saligao shows the failure to recycle plastic and creates pollution with energy wastage.
