Transportation of waste to Pissurlem facility to cost Rs 14-15 crore; Union Environment Ministry gives in-principle nod to partly fund costs
The hazardous waste left behind at the Cuncolim IDC.
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
A study conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has officially confirmed that the 35,000 tonnes of waste left behind at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate by Ms Sunrise Zinc nearly two decades ago is hazardous in nature. The waste must now be disposed of at a common hazardous waste disposal facility.
Left with no option, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has now approached the Union Environment Ministry for funding to transport the hazardous waste to the Common Hazardous Waste Disposal Facility at Pissurlem, at an estimated cost of Rs 14-15 crore.
The study commissioned by the GSPCB and conducted by NEERI concluded that the waste at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate is indeed hazardous and should be disposed of through a safe disposal mechanism. The GSPCB had brought in NEERI last year to conduct a detailed analysis to determine whether the waste was still hazardous or could be remediated and reused for other purposes.
Speaking to 'The Goan', GSPCB Chairman Mahesh Patil confirmed that the NEERI report categorically stated that the waste left by Sunrise Zinc is hazardous and must be safely disposed of at the Pissurlem facility. He added that the GSPCB had engaged NEERI as part of a project to characterise the hazardous waste at the Cuncolim IDC, with sampling completed for analysis by the end of November last year.
While the GSPCB has estimated the total quantity of hazardous waste at around 35,000 tonnes, Patil cautioned that this is a preliminary estimate and the actual amount could vary when the transportation process begins. "The quantity of the waste may vary when the waste is being taken up for transportation,” Patil said.
Hopes were raised in mid-November 2023 that the hazardous waste would be disposed of after the government issued a letter to the GSPCB sanctioning a grant of Rs 5 crore for transportation. However, the funds never came to the GSPCB and the Board engaged NEERI to carry out a study on the characterisation of the hazardous waste before undertaking the task of transporting the waste to the Pissurlem waste disposal facility.
The GSPCB Chairman informed that the Board has sent a proposal to the Union Ministry for the Environment for funding the hazardous waste transportation.
He said the Ministry has agreed in principle to part-fund the transportation cost as and when it is being carried out by the Board. “Rough estimates have shown that around 35,000 tonnes of hazardous waste is lying dumped at the Cuncolim IDC. The Board had prepared rough estimates of the transportation costs, which worked out in the region of Rs 14-15 crore,” he said.
Patil said the GSPCB had knocked on the doors of the Union Environment Ministry for funding the transportation since the Centre has a scheme for hazardous waste transportation on a 60:40 per cent basis. “We recently had a meeting with the Union Environment Secretary, wherein we requested him to include Cuncolim hazardous waste transportation in the list of hazardous waste sites from other parts of the country. We are optimistic that the Centre will take up part funding of the transportation,” he added.
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With monsoons looming, GSPCB faces tight deadline to move waste
MARGAO: Come monsoons, and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) braces up to perform the annual ritual of covering the Cuncolim hazardous waste dump.
Ever since the dump came under the High Court's scrutiny around a decade and a half ago, the GSPCB has been carrying out the exercise of covering the hazardous waste dump with tarpaulin sheets.
With just two and a half months to go for the monsoons to set in, questions are being raised as to whether the GSPCB will be in a position to complete the formalities and set in motion the process to transport the hazardous waste to the Pissurlem common hazardous waste disposal facility.
GSPCB Chairman Mahesh Patil said it all depends on how fast the Centre accepts the Goa government’s proposal for funds to transport the hazardous waste to Pissurlem. “We have just two and a half months left for the monsoons to arrive. If it is possible to start the waste transportation in the next two months, we will undertake the exercise, or else the waste dump will be covered with tarpaulin sheets before the onset of the monsoons,” he added.
