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PROPOSED SOLUTION FOR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR PANJIM Report request to be published; By Stephen Dias Town hall of Corporation of City of Panjim ( CCP) On the first of April, 2016 at 11am, the CCP Mayor organized a meeting on Garbage Management at the CCP hall. The proposal for Solid Waste Management plant by Plastic Export Zundert (I) Pvt. Ltd. ( PEZ), Director Mr. David de Sousa and Chairman Mr. Johannes T.M. Lubbers, from Holland was placed before the Corporators as well as residents from Panjim in a power point presentation. Unfortunately the lack of publicity meant the meeting was sparsely attended. After the presentation, it was brought to the notice of Mayor Surendra Furtado by Stephen Dias that the landfill method for treating mixed garbage was not advisable in Goa. Factors such as uneven terrain consisting of rocky and hilly area and low lying areas in Panjim make Panjim itself highly inappropriate as it is vulnerable during sea level rise. Some parts of Panjim like near Hotel Mandovi, Miramar Circle, Campal and St. Inez creek near Camarabhat and others areas at Mala, are prone to flooding which would impact the transportation and installation of the machinery which would cost several crores. Goa as a whole is also too densely populated for this to be a solution. Mr. Dias also pointed out that based on his research the total cost of sanitary lining landfill alone for an area of 4400 square metres shall cost approximately Rs. 1.70 crores and the total cost would be around 20 crore. He inquired with PEZ about their estimate for total landfill cost for one tonne of combustible waste including operational costs. They were unable to provide a proper answer. He also asked how they will generate the electricity power out of waste material and details of landfill gas technology proposed by them. All questions had no valuable answers from the consultants PEZ. Dr Joe D’Sousa who was also present stated that BIO Gas production from mixed garbage was absurd. As such the CCP spent over 3 to 5 crores to put a Bio Gas plant at Patto where the consultants promised electricity to Panjim. However, this plant went sour and CCP lost over 5 crores in the process to put the Bio Gas plant and later dismantle it. Since there is a lot of rainfall in Goa, the leachates from the landfill site would cause flooding and contaminate the surrounding areas. Panjim having tropical climate there are every chances of microbial degradation and corrosion of installed machinery, as well as the spontaneous generation of fire and destruction at the landfill site. The Government of Goa does not approve landfill as land is scarce in Goa, he observed. Patricia Pinto from Campal also intervened alongwith Commissioner of CCP Sanjit Rodrigues and they said that Panjim is already having garbage segregation and disposal system in place. The invitees have asserted that if Mayor wanted to go ahead, he was free to accept the proposal at his own risk. The MLA of Panjim Sidharth Kuncolienkar and Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate MLA of St. Cruz and Panel Leader were present but did not interact. Overall, this proposal should not go through because: 1) Goa being a small, land-scarce State where population density is growing fast, solutions that require large land areas are ridiculous and counter productive in the long run. 2) Environmental factors in Goa make this an unsuitable solution. 3) We cannot take irreversible decisions like this based on the 'seller'. The government should look at 'buyers'. Obviously, companies that set up landfills will speak of the pros rather than the cons. However, globally large scale litigation are proof that for the people living in areas with landfills, the landfill becomes the problem and not the solution. Stephen Dias Former scientist of NIO Dona Paula