Team Herald
MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council and the government are facing a tough time to resolve the Sonsoddo waste issue for the last many years.
And, adding to that now, it has been revealed that the cement companies do not pay a single rupee to the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) for the transportation of RDF after the baling of waste at Sonsoddo. On the other hand, submission for Expression of Interest (EI) for the setting up of two 25 TPD capacity biomethanation plants at Sonsoddo is ending on September 20.
Further, the cost of transporting RDF from Sonsoddo to cement companies is borne by the GWMC. Therefore, the problem of waste is costing the corporation dearly.
It may be recalled that the said issue had come to light in the recently concluded Assembly session, and the concerned Minister Michael Lobo had stated that the money was being spent by the Goa Waste Management Corporation while managing the waste at Sonsoddo.
A total of 4916.89 tonnes of RDF has been transported from Sonsoddo yard to cement companies from 2015 to 2021. While 2, 31, 239.76 cubic metres of waste is yet to be processed.
According to the information given by the head of the corporation, there is no space for dumping garbage at the site of Sonsoddo waste project. Therefore, it has become necessary to address the waste issue at earliest.
The process is carried out by the corporation at the Sonsoddo yard using remediation machines as well as transporting RDF to cement companies. Presently, the work has been stopped due to the rains. The remaining RDF after the process cannot be used for any work. So it is given to the cement project for processing.
So far, the corporation has not received a single rupee for supplying RDF to cement projects. It has been clarified that the money for transportation of RDF is being spent by the GWMC itself.
