The Goa Waste Management Corporation’s (GWMC) bid to revive the controversial Bainguinim solid waste management (SWM) project has once again triggered a storm of opposition from locals and political representatives, even as five companies have shown interest in the facility. GWMC has floated a Request for Qualifica tion (RFQ) for the solid waste processing facility at Bainguinim.
The RFQ is for the design, engineering, financing, con struction, commissioning, and 15-year operation of a 100-ton-per-day solid waste processing facility at Bain guinim. The plant, proposed under the public-private partner ship (PPP) model on a design-build-finance-operate-trans fer (DBFOT) basis, will include a recycle and sorting line, segregation, bio-methanation, and composting systems.
GWMC managing director Harish Adconkar confirmed that the process is underway. “Yes, we have floated the RFQ for the Bainguinim solid waste processing facility. A pre bid meeting has already been held and the queries raised by bidders will be addressed. More bidders can also partic ipate in the RFQ. We will then carry out a technical analysis of the bidders and the GWMC team will visit and inspect plants set up by these bidders at various locations. Only then will these bidders qualify to submit their financial bids. We are now examining pre-bid queries.
The process is ongoing,” he said. But the proposal has once again run into stiff resistance, with local leaders and residents reiterating their outright rejection of the site. Cumbharjua MLA Rajesh Faldessai, who had earlier locked horns with Waste Management Minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate, stood firm in his opposition. “My stand is very clear. I will not allow the Bainguinim plant. It is impossible. I will be at the forefront of the opposition if GWMC goes ahead with the proposal. Chief Minister Pra mod Sawant has promised me that the plant will not be set up in Bainguinim. In the past, bids have failed three times. It will fail this time too,” he declared. Echoing his concerns, Corlim Zilla Panchayat Member Siddhesh Naik said, “We are not opposed to an SWM pro cessing facility, but we are opposed to the site. We don’t want it at Bainguinim because of its location, which is close to several residential complexes.
There are nearly 1,500 apartments in the proximity of the proposed site. Trucks carrying wet waste from different places will also pass through the residential areas, causing a nuisance to resi dents. It will turn the premises into a breeding ground for pests and rodents, posing a threat to the lives of people re siding in Bainguinim. Therefore, the proposed plant should be relocated to an industrial area.” Opposition has also come from civic bodies and local organisations. Se Old Goa deputy sarpanch and Porne Go enche Nagrik Manch president Ambar Amonkar said, “We were unaware that an RFQ had been floated for the Bain guinim plant.
Three attempts were made in the past to in vite bids, and no bids were received. The local MLA also opposed the plant, and our opposition will continue, come what may.” Former Old Goa panchayat member and Cumbharjua Block Congress Committee president Vishal Volvoikar added, “Though we have no official information, there are rumours that the government has floated an RFQ for the fourth time.
The people of Bainguinim and Old Goa are op posed to it, and they have protested in the past. I had even declared that I would withdraw from the election if the State government scrapped the Bainguinim plant before the ZP elections held in December 2020.” Adding to the chorus, Se Old Goa panchayat member Vishwas Kuttikar said public sentiment has consistently been against the project. “The government should not set up the plant at Bainguinim because it is surrounded by schools, a religious math, and several residential complex es.
We had staged massive protests in the past to oppose it. We will continue to oppose it and ensure that the gov ernment scraps the proposed plant at Bainguinim,” he said. The Bainguinim site has been a flashpoint for years, with repeated attempts by successive governments to push the project collapsing under sustained protests. With GWMC insisting on moving ahead and locals vowing fresh agita tions, the battle lines over the waste facility are once again clearly drawn.