The Margao Congress Block on Tuesday alleged that the gasification plant at Sonsodo, inaugurated by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on April 23, is operating below its designed capacity and called for an independent inspection by the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Goa Waste Management Corporation.
A Congress delegation led by GPCC spokesperson and Margao Congress Block convener Savio Coutinho, along with Anwar Naroo, Aziz Shah, Lincoln Gomes and Mathin Carol, visited the facility on July 14 and claimed the plant was not processing the intended quantity of dry inorganic waste.
According to Coutinho, the plant was designed to dispose of 10 tonnes of dry inorganic waste each day. He alleged that the quantity of residual fly ash stored at the site was inconsistent with that capacity and said the accumulated material contained partially charred plastic waste.
Displaying the material collected at the site, Coutinho questioned whether the plant was operating at its intended temperature.
He claimed that if the facility had been processing 10 tonnes of waste daily, it should have generated around 500 kilograms of fly ash each day. Based on the period since the plant’s commissioning, he estimated that approximately 55,000 litres of fly ash should have accumulated, alleging that the quantity present at the site was substantially lower.
The Congress leader also pointed to what he described as a large quantity of waste lying on conveyor belts intended to feed coconut husks into the plant. He said cobwebs on the conveyor system suggested that the belts had not been used for an extended period.
Coutinho criticised Margao MLA and Public Works Minister Digambar Kamat and the BJP-led government, alleging misuse of public funds on waste management projects.
He called on the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Goa Waste Management Corporation to inspect the facility and verify whether it was functioning effectively.
“We demand accountability from the government,” Coutinho said, adding that the Margao Congress Block was considering legal action over what it described as the misuse of public funds.
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