Team Herald
MARGAO: Chief Officer of Margao Municipal Council (MMC) Siddhivinayak Naik on Monday sought all permissions and licenses obtained for the Sonsoddo plant besides garbage disposal plans of the neighbouring panchayats.
With regards to the Sonsoddo plant, Naik sought copies of consent to operate from Goa State Pollution Control Board, NOC from the Fire Services, compliance with the Inspector of Factories and Boilers, authorisation under the Solid Waste Management Rules and other details.
Seeking the status of the existing fire fighting system at the plant including compliance with fire hydrant check and also medical checkup of the people working at the plant, the chief officer has sought information of how much compost has been produced since the plant started operating at Sonsoddo.
In letters to the panchayats, the chief officer too sought their garbage disposal plan, work order issued or agreement for garbage collection signed with any organisation, details of garbage disposal plant of the village, deterrent action taken by the panchayat against those dumping garbage by the roadside and amount of garbage collected daily for the last one year.
The letters have been written to the panchayats of Betalbatim, Camurlim, Curtorim, Davorlim Dicarpale, Rumdamoll Davorlim, Nuvem, Sao Jose de Areal, Colva, Aquem Baixo, Benaulim, Navelim, Raia, Seraulim and Telaulim.
The panchayats have been requested to submit the information within seven days from receipt of the letter and have been cautioned that compliance or failure to comply with the same would be intimated to the High Court in a Public Interest Litigation pending before it.
The chief officer has sought re-introduction of the old system where liquor manufacturers used to keep a deposit for bottles sold and same would be returned when the empty bottles were returned.
He argued that this not only resulted in optimal use of the bottles but also reduced garbage in a large way and appealed to the Excise Commissioner and Director of Weights and Measures to re-introduce this deposit scheme.
Naik said while desilting the nullahs recently the staff found many empty alcohol containers a large number of empty containers are found by the garbage collectors.
