One of the major takeaways of the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) meeting on Sonsodo chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was the government’s decision to set up a 15TPD bio-methanation plant at Margao.
Take note, while it may take months for the proposed plant at Sonsodo to take shape and see light of the day, transportation of daily wet waste from Margao to the Saligao waste treatment plant is set to double in the coming days.
Sources pointed out that the HPCC has given the nod for the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) to increase the daily wet waste transportation from Margao to Saligao, from the present 10 tonnes a day to 20 tonnes.
The decision, sources said, will come into force immediately after the minutes of the HPCC meeting are vetted by the Chief Minister’s Office and the MMC takes formal permission from the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) for increasing the transportation of the wet waste.
Sources informed that the MMC officials explained to the HPCC at the meeting that of the 35 tonnes of wet waste generated in Margao daily, around 10 TPD is sent to Saligao, while around five tonnes finds its way to the bio-methanation plant set up at the SGPDA market.
The MMC, sources said, conceded before the HPCC that the remaining 20 tonnes of the wet waste is dumped into the Sonsodo waste management shed without treatment. MMC officials informed that transportation of 20 tonnes of daily wet waste to Saligao will give a big relief to MMC when Sonsodo is full to the brim with piled-up waste.
It is estimated that around 10,000 metric tonnes of piled-up waste is presently inside the Sonsodo shed, which has been responsible for the recurring fires in recent times.
“Once MMC transports 20 tonnes of daily wet waste to the Saligao plant, the civic body will be in a better position to handle the daily waste. Given that around 5TPD of wet waste is being treated by the bio-methanation plant at the SGPDA, the MMC will have to take care of the balance 10 tonnes. This waste will be treated by the windrow composting technology,” remarked a civic official.
The official added: “If the load on the daily wet waste is taken off after 20 metric tonnes of wet waste is sent to Saligao, the MMC will go for the carting away and remediation of the piled up waste estimated around 10,000 metric tonnes."
Officials pointed out that the HPCC’s attention was drawn to the fact that while the MMC had tendered as many as three 5TPD bio-methanation plants in the city, only one is commissioned to date, while the fate of the remaining two plants remains unknown.
Sources in the GWMC told The Goan that the Saligao plant will now have no issue in accepting additional wet waste from Margao given the availability of space at the plant. Officials, however, stressed that the transportation from Margao cannot be a routine affair, adding that the MMC ought to take steps simultaneously to handle the daily wet waste in due course.
As far as the removal of the piled-up waste inside the Sonsodo shed is concerned, the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) has shot down the proposal to tender the work of carting out the waste and remediation at a cost of Rs two crore.
Sources, however, said that the MMC will now await for the GSUDA to propose suitable technology after consultation with the GWMC towards the disposal of the piled-up waste at Sonsodo.
