Monserrate moots bringing civic garbage handling under waste corp

Margao: Waste Management Minister Atanasio Monseratte on Thursday said that the waste management of all municipalities should be handled by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) for effective collection and treatment of the waste.

I have asked the chief minister about this. Let us first handle municipalities, then we can think of panchayats,’’ said the minister, who visited the Sonsoddo waste treatment site after two years.

The managing director of the GWMC, Levison Martins, told the MMC that within a year or two, the Cacora plant will reach capacity and asked it to work towards a solution at the earliest. Making the biodigester at the SGPDA functional was one of the suggestions Martins made to the MMC.

Acknowledging the improved issue of stink near the Sonsoddo site, Monserrate credited the GWMC and MMC for this.

“A 10 TPD plant will come here to treat dry waste, and formalities for putting up a bigger biodigester at the site have been completed,’’ he said.

Monseratte, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, Shirodkar, MMC chief officer, Gaurish Shankhwalkar, and councillors visited the sonsoddo site on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Monserrate also heard a few grievances during the public interaction at the MMC building. “Just two or three grievances were raised. People should come forward with their grievances. The government is here to listen,’’ he said.

The interaction saw meagre participation, with citizens saying there was no prior announcement.