Garbage issue is haunting the residents of Goa day by day due to the increase in commercial activities and mushrooming of hotels and resorts in Goa the production of tons of garbage every day is a major issue and to sort this out setting up of garbage treatment plants in Goa is very much necessary. One such plant already exists at the patto area in Panaji. If all goes well the coastal belt in North Goa may get its first Solid Waste Management Treatment Plant in 2016.
The major issue with setting up of a garbage treatment plant is the opposition from the residents of the locality. Everybody wants to get rid of the garbage generated by them but nobody wants to have the garbage plant around in their area and this might be the only issue which may create the hurdle while setting up of a plant in Saligao.
The proposed plant at Saligao-calangute plateau will handle the waste of Calangute and Saligao constituencies and which will cost around 148 crore to the government exchequer. “The garbage treatment plant will be completed by February 2016,” said Calangute MLA. Mr. Lobo was addressing the press, he said that the plant is one of its kind in India, Lobo also disclosed that there will be more three such plants will be setup soon in other parts of Goa. According to him presently 100 tons of the garbage is being generated by the hotels in the coastal belt and around 1000 tons of waste is already lying near the treatment plant.
Mr. Lobo also denied the allegation that the treatment plant will create pollution in the locality “Salmona spring is not polluted because of the leachate of the garbage dump at the Saligao-Calangute plateau,” he said mentioning that former CM & current defence Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar and Advocate Geberal Atmaram Nadkarni had already given the green signal to the project.
But as discussed earlier the project has been delayed due to the litigation in public interest instigated by some of the vigilant citizens of Goa who have the knocked the doors of court over the government’s decision to setup the plant without obtaining necessary permissions. “The garbage treatment plant is completely illegal and the government is going ahead with the construction of the plant despite three High Court orders against it,” said Mario Mascarenchas, joint secretary of Saligao Civic and Consumer Cell. He further added that there is a contempt petition in the High Court against the construction of the plant and another petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
