… Not quite, says whistleblower
Whistleblower and monitoring committee members rubbish govts claim that Cacora waste plant is alike the one in Kaiserlautern
Kaiserlautern plant visited by garbage junketeers
Team Herald
teamherald@herald-goa.com
While a section of the Curchorem Municipal Council, including the whistle blower who blew the lid off what really happened at the Europe junket undertaken by 36 MLA’s, councilors and others, have opposed the technology being used in the Caroca plant, the government is refusing to let any opposition that comes in its way.
Serious concerns have been raised by the totally ignored monitoring committee, whose members felt that the bio methanation technology has been tested and failed. Clinton Vaz, an eminent waste management expert and a member of the committee told Herald ‘This technology has not worked even in Panjim where the technology was supposed to have been used. It works when each waste item has the same culture. When you get diverse mixed waste like in Goa, the input to the plant is not consistent. The plant at Patto started in 2007 failed from the start where the fat from meat waste clogged the piping system”
It is also learnt that a similar kind of plant used in the BITS Pilani Sancoale campus, has also lead to disastrous consequences because the sludge produced form such waste treatment needs to be removed for use in agriculture. BITS, according to information given by one member of the monitoring committee on waste management; is faced with huge quantities of sludge lying in the campus.
However Director Science and Technology Levinson Martins dismissed these arguments. “It is incorrect that Cacora will have the same technology as the Patto plant. We are confident of the technology which was tested before the delegation went to Europe. They didn’t go to finalise the technology but see plants of the same technology”, he said.
The whistle blower, who returned from the trip however revealed that of the three plants, one the one is Kaiserlautern used mixed waste.
“ But that is treated at 8 degrees and here have temperatures that tough 40 degrees, the waste in Europe is completely sorted and tested. There is no comparison. Also the tonnage of waste handled daily in Kaiserlautern is 700 tons as opposed to 30 tons in Cacora”, the whistle blower said.
It is evident that with the Chief Secretary B Vijayan and Director Science and technology Levinson martins rooting for Cacora, with the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project not yet undertaken, the battle lines are completely drawn.
