MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council’s resolution giving its stamp of approval for the ambitious proposal to address the burning waste problem by setting up bio-methanation plants has finally reached the office of Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC), but the responsibilities of the civic body from making the plants see the light of day seem far from over.
While the GWMC is now expected to prepare estimates for the plants after MMC Chairperson Pooja Naik forwarded the council resolution on the plants, a glance at the GWMC action plan indicates the civic body should shed its lethargy and take the proposal to its logical conclusion.
That the plants cannot materialize overnight is evident from the fact that the GWMC has recommended to the civic body to erect two separate sheds, each admeasuring 2000 square metres to set up an integrated dry waste facility for handling 25 TPD dry waste and the second shed to house the bio-methanation plants.
The GWMC action plan states the dry waste facility shed should have a minimum height of 6 metres. This shed should contain machinery such as conveyor, forklift, weighing scale, baling machines, storage bins, etc.
In order to treat the balance quantity of wet waste received at Sonsodo, the GWMC has recommended the construction of a shed of about 2000 square metres for accommodating the modular bio-methanation plants.
That’s not all. The GWMC has also asked the MMC to construct tar roads leading to the proposed shed, besides construction of retaining walls.
The MMC has also been set the task of construct a digestate/leachate disposal line, which will connect to the main sewerage line. If not, it has been suggested to transport this leachate to the Navelim STP. It has also been recommended to shift the high tension line along the plot boundary. On its part, the GWMC will only carry out finalization of specifications for the bio-methanation plants and handholding in procuring these from the GeM Portal.
The agency will also remediate around 30,000 m3 of legacy waste to make the area available of around 4000 square metres for the construction of sheds. This exercise is planned to be completed by December 2020.
An official said it was high time the MMC posts a dedicated engineer at Sonsodo to take the issue seriously instead of giving the responsibility to all the engineers in rotation. The engineers will have to play a major role to make the bio-methanation plants a reality, the official added.
