Team Herald
MARGAO: With the State government failing to resolve the long-pending Sonsoddo legacy waste issue, Margao and Fatorda locals will have to bear the brunt of waste dumped at the site for more months till the next government is formed to see light of the day in getting rid of the garbage problem.
Going through the facts and the process to set up two 25 TPD garbage treatment plants at Sonsoddo clearly indicates that this mess will continue further.
At the moment, the process of Expression of Interest for two 25 TPD plants is held up due to the technical issues.
It is pertinent to note that upon the suggestions of experts, the Margao Municipality had initiated the process of setting up two 25 TPD garbage treatment plants at Sonsoddo, and the civic body had already floated the Expression of Interest. Wherein, few companies had shown the interest to treat the garbage dumped at Sonsoddo. However, the process has been held up for almost a month due to technical issues.
Speaking to Herald MMC Chief Officer Agnelo Fernandes also hinted that it is very difficult to finalise the process of setting up two 25 TPD plants at Sonsoddo.
“Yes, the process was held up due to technical issues and a few days back the civic body rectified it. However, it is very difficult to say that the further procedure will be finalised before the Code of Conduct for upcoming Assembly elections,” said Fernandes.
The CO further said that experts from Hyderabad were supposed to come down to Goa to guide on the setting up of treatment plants at Sonsoddo, but the civic body is still waiting for their arrival.
According to the sources, appointment was fixed with the experts on November 24, and later on December 4. However, they missed the date on both occasions. The civic body is hesitating to move ahead with the process of setting up plants without the proper guidelines from the experts.
It is to be noted that the Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) has already initiated the process of bioremediation of the legacy dump at Sonsoddo, but the work has been held up due to the rains.
The SWMC is now racing against the time to complete the bioremediation.
At the moment, the civic body is also struggling to get rid of the garbage dumped at the old plant at Sonsoddo, due to shortage of space. The shed is almost full and the MMC is forced to dump the dump which is generated on a daily basis at the available space, even near the site of the legacy dump, where regular fire incidents are reported.
Fernandes said that the civic body has recently started to remove the garbage from the shed of an old plant.
“We are working hard to resolve the issue of Sonsoddo garbage,” said Fernandes. However, despite several efforts it is very much clear that there is no scope of initiating any concrete procedure to expedite the process to resolve the Sonsoddo issue, especially before the elections. And hence, the locals of Curtorim and Raia, besides Margao and Fatorda, have to wait for another government to resolve the issue.
