MARGAO: After having only recently granted the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) consent to operate 5 TPD biomethanation plant, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has now issued fresh directions to the MMC to cease the operation of the plant within six months.
As a modification to the previous consent, the GSPCB directed the MMC to install additional bio-digester plants at the Sonsodo Waste Management facility and halt the operation of the 5TPD plant within the specified timeframe.
GSPCB Member Secretary Dr Shamila Monteiro, included this condition in the earlier consent, emphasizing the installation of additional Bio-Digester Plants at the Sonsoddo Solid Waste Management facility while discontinuing the operation of the STPD Bio-Methanation Plant in the SGPDA Market complex.
The GSPCB has also required the MMC to submit a compliance report, while maintaining all other conditions outlined in the Consent to Operate under the Water Act and Air Act unchanged.
The latest directive from the GSPCB to cease operations of the bio-methanation plant within six months has presented a challenge for the MMC. Without a functioning treatment plant at the Sonsoddo waste management shed, doubts arise regarding the feasibility of setting up bio-digesters within the given timeframe, considering the lengthy tendering process and installation requirements.
Presently, the MMC incurs significant costs transporting around 30 tons of daily wet waste to the Cacora waste treatment plant site. The 5 TPD bio-methanation plant remains inactive as the MMC awaits consent from the GSPCB and permission from the PWD to accept digested leachate at the STP plant in Margao.
With the daily wet waste redirected to the Cacora waste treatment plant, the MMC seems hesitant to resume operations of the 5 TPD bio-methanation
plant, opting instead to keep it in standby as a backup facility.
Sources reveal that the MMC plans to seek legal advice regarding its contractual obligations with the plant’s contractor in light of the new directive to cease operations after six months, alongside its previous intention to maintain the plant as a backup solution.
