Team Herald
Panjim: Terming the Sonsodo legacy dump a serious health hazard, the High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Managing Director of the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) and the Chairperson of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to clear the legacy dump before February 28, 2023. The HC has said that the GWMC and MMC shall be held personally responsible for non-compliance with these directions. The HC order further directed the GWMC and the contractor to jointly ensure that the problem of leachate from the garbage dump is immediately addressed, within a week from today and a necessary compliance report to be filed in Court, within ten days.
While hearing a PIL filed by the Citizens for Sonsodo, the HC on Wednesday has rapped the GWMC and MMC. The HC in its order said “Despite granting ample time and opportunities, both these authorities have, till date, failed to sort out this issue of remediation of the legacy dump. This position is made clear in advance because there is a tendency on the part of the authorities to blame the contractor and the contractor, to blame the authorities. This has to stop at some stage. It is for the authorities and the contractor to find solutions to their problems. But, under no circumstances to delay the work any further in any case, beyond 28/02/2023,” the Court said. “It is the duty of all concerned to ensure that this legacy dump is cleared at the earliest, without giving any further excuses,” said the order.
