Team Herald
MARGAO: After much deliberation, the Loutolim gram sabha on Sunday rejected the proposal to the set up an integrated solid waste management plant in the village claiming it to be ‘not necessary’.
The Loutolim Panchayat received the above proposal but the gram sabha after considering relevant scientific studies, the norms and regulations followed in India and the rest of the world, best practices of successful towns and cities across the globe and factual data related to the village and the rest of Goa, resolved to unanimously reject the proposal on the various grounds and claimed that the plant is ‘not needed’ in the village.
Sarpanch Xavier Fernandes said confusion is created in this regard that the land is in Verna but the land has been acquired in Loutolim. He said the village is seized with the matter with regards to handling and managing wet as well as dry waste.
The resolution reads, “The village of Loutolim has been handling its solid waste most efficiently for centuries, until the recent advent of plastic and other composite, non-biodegradable materials. Even today, most waste is segregated at source in our village, and the organic waste is used as animal feed, or as compost for manure production. With the existing network of scrap collectors and recyclers, the recyclable waste is also handled properly. The non-recyclable, hazardous and biomedical waste generated in our village are in small quantity and do not need such
infrastructure. It is therefore very clear that the proposed Integrated
Solid Waste Management Plant at Loutolim village is not necessary.”
The gram sabha members said that compared to the best practices employed for solid waste management, the integrated solid waste management plant is an inferior solution, is not necessary and will cause more pollution, rather than solving the existing issues.
“The land on which the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant is proposed is critical water recharge area, ecologically sensitive plateau, which we are bound to protect and conserve for our future generations under our Constitution, environmental laws and the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994” it added.
The Gram Sabha of Loutolim Panchayat resolved unanimously that the proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant is rejected and that the panchayat and government shall pursue the technically and environmentally sound and historically proven approach of decentralised solid waste management for the village.
The villagers further resolved that the panchayat shall forward this resolution to the relevant authorities and take all necessary steps thereafter to preserve the rights of the future generations over the subject common land.
