MARGAO: Assuming that the Sonsoddo waste treatment plant would see the light of the day by August, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) seems to be not very keen in maintaining the 11 composting units constructed in its wards.
The High Court had directed MMC to construct four composting units in each of its wards as the immediate and alternative arrangement to the waste disposal problem in city in 2008 and therefore such 11 composting units were built in few wards.
“It is very difficult to operate these composting units. There has to be dedicated workers to run them. At few places, the locals themselves objected claiming that the units were stinking. Secondly, waste segregation had been the problem for the MMC to continue with the operation of the units. Nobody used to segregate the waste despite repeated requests,’’ said Mr Viraj Arabekar, MMC sanitary inspector, explaining the reasons why the units are not functional.
The composting units were constructed when Mr Johnson Fernandes was the chairperson.
“We have to however shut them ( composting units) now as the new waste treatment plant would be commissioned at Sonsoddo, in August. Around 50 tonne of waste would be required there and hence we would not be able to run composting units for want of waste,’’ Mr Arabekar added.
“The MMC spent Rs 9 lakh on these 11 composting units which were never used. The lackadaisical attitude of the authorities has led to the tax payers money going down the drain. What was important was the fact that they could not use it properly neither they maintained it as their property. The sheds are broken,’’ a former councilor, who is now out of the council politics, lamented.
As the MMC has neglected these composting units, the migrants have taken shelter in them. “We will keep a watch on them at night. They would not be allowed to misuse the units,” Mr Arabekar said
A visit to the units confirmed that the sheds are in bad shape and are filled with waste, even pieces of glass bottles. The iron framework of the sheds has been corroded.
