Goa CM sanctions Rs 23 crore for 4 waste management facilities at Sonsoddo

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday approved Rs 23 crore for the setting up of four integrated dry waste management facilities and biodigester plants having a cumulative capacity of 15 tonne per day, at Sonsoddo.
Waste management minister Michael Lobo told reporters that after the first four plants are set up, three more will be added.
The Margao Municipal Council (MMC), at a special meeting, gave its approval to the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) to set up seven bio-digester plants at Sonsoddo to treat waste generated in Margao.
To address the commercial capital’s long-pending garbage issue, GWMC had proposed the upgrade of the MMC’s waste management facility in two phases, including the setting up of the integrated dry waste management facility and biodigester plants. Margao generates nearly 60 tonne of waste each day, comprising 18-22 tonne of dry waste, 14-18 tonne of wet waste and 26-28 tonne of mixed waste.
The first phase proposes the setting up of an integrated dry waste management facility and biodigester plants having a cumulative capacity of 15 tonne per day, construction of proper roads to the shed, remediation of legacy waste to generate space for the construction of a shed, shifting of a high tension line and repair and commissioning of an existing landfill at Sonsoddo.
In the second phase, biodigester plants having a cumulative capacity of 20 tonne per day, construction of a leachate disposal line that will connect to main sewerage line and avenue planting have been proposed.
The MMC had set up a windrow waste management facility through a concessionaire, Fomento Green, in 2011, which is presently managed by the MMC. The initial philosophy of waste management was that wet waste would be windrow composted and dry waste would be sent to the landfill.
In 2016, the new waste management rules came into being, wherein segregation of waste is mandatory and management of dry and wet waste should be done scientifically.