PANAJI: Corporation of the City of
Panaji (CCP) on Tuesday resolved to grant extension till July 31 to BVG India, the private company that has been contracted to manage the waste treatment plant at Panaji municipal market.
CCP commissioner Ajit Roy assured he would get the issue of stench sorted out. “I will ask my engineer to visit the site and prepare an inspection report. Let’s find a solution to the problem,” he urged city councillors.
The issue was hotly debated at the CCP meeting where Roy urged councillors to grant at least temporary extension to the company whose contract had lapsed few months ago, stating that their bills could not be cleared until the corporation resolved to grant the extension. Mayor Vithal Chopdekar also pointed out that the plant was in a bad state.
Roy shot down ideas of shifting the plant to another location explaining that, “according to central government rules, bulk waste generators have to ensure that waste is treated at site.” He added that the corporation could consider better technology and better supervision and even consider giving the contract to another company in the future, if they were not happy with the work but told them that the plant had to function on site.
When asked about the issue of vendors in the vicinity of the plant allegedly developing cancer and skin diseases, he said this needed to be proved. “I appreciate the concern but the technology they are using was vetted by scientific experts. I have visited the plant and haven’t seen any problems in the past” he said.
