From the two key decisions taken at the last high powered coordination meeting to tackle Margao’s garbage issue, the Municipality has failed to get its act together on the outsourcing front. The second decision on segregating the garbage dump at Sonsoddo is finally making some headway and has reached the tendering stage.
Speaking to Herald, Goa State Pollution Control Board Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha whose department is overseeing the entire segregation process stated that the technology had been identified following due procedure and Nodal Agency, Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) has begun the tendering process. “If everything goes as planned the facility may begin as early as October,” said Noronha.
Reiterating that the segregation process was the way forward as opposed to the capping proposal of the MMC that incidentally dragged on for couple of years, Noronha explained that the latter would have cost the government Rs 32 crore.
He explained that the capping process would have come up to approximately Rs 9 crore and that the approx cost of the land was about Rs 23 crore and that the government would have lost the 16,000 square meters of land if the estimated 60 metric tonnes of waste at the garbage dump had been capped.
It maybe recalled following meetings with the Nashik based agency and a visit of their site and inspection of the Sonsoddo garbage dump, a one year deadline had been sent once the tendering process was completed excluding the intervening monsoon period. Directorate of municipal administration, Elvis Gomes who is also the member secretary of GSUDA held thorough discussions with the agency. “The government through the DMA will bear the cost. GSUDA will execute the work through an open tender,” said Gomes.
The waste will be segregated as plastic, inert and compost waste and a bailing station would be installed for the plastic waste which would then be sent to Karnataka for incarceration.
Gomes pointed out that the HPCC had recommended outsourcing but till date there has not been any progress in this regard other than hiking the collection fee for door to door garbage collection.
Even there, there have been complaints about garbage not being collected in days and it does not appear likely that the MMC will complete the outsourcing process before September 25, the day the code of conduct comes into effect.
When Gomes was asked to comment on the MMC’s excuse of not having enough funds to sort the problems associated with daily collection of garbage, he said they have to pursue the funds issue simultaneously and keep going without compromising on the public service.
“Their administrative machinery has to increase its efficiency. They have the operational freedom like never before. For example, I have advised them to take corporate along as nobody says no to a public cause. At the same time, if they work hard and show the right intention, funds are not far,” said Gomes.
“MMC can help itself more than anyone else. It is a process and they will face obstacles which they have to overcome. We can definitely stand by them provided they take the first step. We cannot take their place” quipped Gomes.
