MARGAO: Taking serious note of the mixed garbage passed off as inert waste being dumped in the open ground near the SGPDA market, a group of citizens united under the banner ‘Concerned Citizens of Margao/Fatorda’ urged the High Court to investigate the ongoing process of bioremediation of the legacy waste at the Sonsoddo dump site.
On Monday, the group staged a protest outside the SGPDA Market, in a bid to rattle the authorities concerned to act against the dumping, which has resulted in a stench emanating from the area. “We are already subject to the decades-old problem of Sonsoddo, and now, to resolve that eyesore, the authorities are creating a second dump yard at Fatorda,” alleged Jose Maria Miranda, a Margao resident.
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In a petition filed before the High Court, the group has stated that this same bioremediation work that was initiated/tendered by the GSUDA in 2017 andwas likely to cost Rs 700 per cubic meter, but has risen to Rs 1,840 per cubic meter. Also, the quantity of the legacy dump at Sonsoddo, which was estimated by the GSUDA to be 96,000 cubic meters, rose to a whopping 2,35,000 cubic meters in the short span of two years, leaving citizens doubtful if any remediation work was done at all, during the period.
The petition also questions if the contractor has fulfilled the conditions of the tender, to submit written agreements with Cement factories for the acceptance of RDF material. “We are now not sure if this mixed waste is actually accepted by the cement factories, or if it gets disposed of unscientifically, by dumping in open areas?” the group asked in the petition.
The citizens also urged the court to issue directions to the Goa State Pollution Control Board or appoint an independent agency to conduct analysis and tests on the various components of the so-called bioremediated waste at Sonsoddo, and to verify if the Margao Municipal Council actually has a recovery shed for the RDF material, or if it only exists on paper.
Convenor for the Shadow Council of Margao, Savio Coutinho claimed that the only waste management operation seen is the mere screening of the waste through different sized sieves, followed by tagging the various components inaccurately as compost, inert and RDF material. “The MMC and GWMC have blatantly violated all prevalent rules and guidelines for waste management, with the sole agenda of bestowing benefits to the contractor engaged to remediate the Sonsoddo dump,” he alleged.
