TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CALANGUTE: Stating that the land acquisition process for the Solid Waste Management Plant (SWMP) at Saligao/Calangute is complete, Calangute MLA Michael Lobo has informed that the land will shortly belong to the State government and the project will be completed within a couple of years.
Briefing media persons at his office in Calangute, Lobo said, “An area of 1.30 lakh sq mtrs has been acquired from Calangute Comunidade, while access to the project has been acquired from Saligao Comunidade.”
“The government will take possession of the site and take over the gate/security house at the entrance from Calangute Panchayat, thereby allowing garbage collected from surrounding areas to be dumped in the plot, till the SWMP is set up at the site,” informed Lobo.
“I will also impress upon Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to remove garbage scattered all along the roads in the coastal villages and to dispose it at the acquired site, till the plant takes shape,” he said.
When questioned if the existing Calangute garbage dumping site would be disturbed, Lobo replied in the negative, saying that the Calangute garbage dumping site will continue as they have acquired adjacent land for the project.
When asked about the Environment Assessment Report for the project, Lobo replied, “It is for the Department of Science & Technology to prepare the report and my duty as local MLA was to acquire the land for the project.”
However, according to sources, the committee has not even been formed for the purpose.
Lobo was then asked to justify the setting up of the SWMP atop the hill at Calangute-Saligao, as similar plants in Germany, Austria and other countries are located down in the valley, according to a report by the Calangute Comunidade attorney, who was part of the government-sponsored delegation to study garbage management in some European countries.
“This is not true and those plants are situated on hilly areas as well, and this plant is suitable for Goa’s climate,” said Lobo.
However, Calangute Comunidade President Agostinho Proenca reiterated the comunidade’s opposition to the project. “We will not allow the land to be used to dump garbage or for the composting of the garbage. The land has been acquired to set up the SWMP and we don’t want another Sonsoddo in Calangute,” said Proenca.
