Margao Municipal Council’s mysterious proposal to set up another 5TPD bio-methanation plant at the SGPDA wholesale fish market has thrown up a debate of sorts in the corridors of the civic body and outside. The South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA), however, may have to answer a pertinent question — will the SGPDA permit the Margao Municipality to set another plant at the PDA wholesale fish market when no wet waste generated in the PDA retail fish and vegetable market is treated by the Margao Municipal Council’s existing 5TPD bio-methanation plant set up in the PDA retail market.
In fact, the SGPDA had clearly pointed out to the Margao Municipal Chief Officer earlier this year that the MMC not only owed money to the PDA amounting to Rs 1.67 crore from the bio-gas plant installed by the civic body at the retail market, but complained that the plant does not treat the wet waste generated in the market.
This has thrown up a question of sorts – how come the MMC has proposed the bio-methanation plant at the PDA wholesale fish market when the market churns out only thermocol and fish waste, which is not accepted by a bio-methanation plant. At the High Court hearing on the wholesale fish market issue, it was submitted in the Court that the SGPDA and the MMC would soon meet to discuss the civic body’s proposal to set up a bio-methanation plant at the wholesale fish market.
It still isn’t clear what stand the SGPDA will take on the MMC’s proposal to set up the bio-methanation plant at the wholesale fish market when the PDA has been on record that no wet waste generated daily in the SGPDA retail market is being processed at the plant. In fact, the SGPDA Member Secretary Sheikh Ali had reminded the MMC Chief Officer in a letter written earlier this year that the aim of setting up the project was to collect the wet waste generated daily in the retail and wholesale fish market under SGPDA, adding that no wet waste generated daily in the SGPDA retail market is being processed at the plant.