MARGAO: The Margao Municipal Council on Tuesday resolved to outsource door-to-door waste collection in the city, even as the sanitary and the technical sections came under fire from the city fathers for its inefficiency and its failure to collect fees from hotels and restaurants since the last two years.

At the Council meeting held this evening, the civic body decided to outsource waste collection door-to-door after conducting a survey. “We will compile the data before tendering and outsourcing the waste collection door-to-door,” informed Municipal Chief Officer Sandhya Kamat after the meeting.

The Parrikar government might find itself in a tight corner over the utilization of land admeasuring 1.15 lakh sq mts in Davorlim acquired by the previous government with local villagers demanding that the same be utilized for projects beneficial to locals.

This became evident on Sunday when the Davorlim gram sabha adopted a resolution demanding reservation of 10,000 sq mts of the acquired land for the Holy Cross Chapel.

MARGAO: Unveiling its plan of action to tackle sanitation head on in the State, the government will construct around 90,000 toilets across Goa by 2014 as part of the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan scheme, even as PWD Minister, Sudin Dhavlikar unveiled a scheme to build free soakpits for households to take care of the kitchen waste water.

The PWD Minister also announced the government’s new scheme to acquire land for the construction of community toilets and promised to provide toilets even in Balwadi, Anganwadi school, besides urban areas of the state.

PANJIM: The tourism high powered monitoring committee, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has given its nod to a Panjim cruise jetty, Merces amphitheatre and Margao mini exhibition-convention centre and other tourism and infrastructure projects totalling Rs 50 crore, with a two year completion target.

The committee set-up to hasten clearances for tourism infrastructure, met last week, where it reviewed and cleared projects which had been pending for want of departmental and financial concurrences. Serving as a single window system, the committee has given top priority for works on five important projects proposed all across the state.

MARGAO: The garbage menace facing Navelim village threatens to spill over to neighbouring Margao.

An agitated Navelim MLA and Fisheries Minister, Avertano Furtado on Thursday threatened to stop Margao sewage from flowing into the Sewerage treatment plant located at Sirvodem-Navelim if the Margao Civic body refuses to accept waste from Navelim. With the waste problem turning from bad to worse in his constituency, Avertano telephonically spoke to Margao Municipal Chairperson Arthur D’Silva to accept Navelim waste at the Sonsodo waste dumping site. He argued that Navelim villagers have suffered over the years on account of the location of the sewage treatment plant located at Sirvodem-Navelim and wondered why Margao cannot accept waste generated in the village.

MARGAO: Fomento Green has raised two bills amounting to Rs 1.30 crore each towards setting up the Rs 7.31 crore waste treatment plant at Sonsodo, but the Margao Civic body is yet to put in place a

MARGAO: With the government setting 2014 as the deadline to complete Margao’s long delayed sewerage project, the Goa Sewerage Development Corporation has taken up work on the Malbhat and Aquem area

MARGAO: After its previous attempt coming a cropper for want of awareness and logistical support, the Margao Municipal Council has decided to give yet another try to make the commercial capital plastic free.

Margao Municipal Council Chairperson Arthur D’Silva said the civic body would give around a month’s time to the city’s shopkeepers and business establishments to dispose off their plastic bags stocks by January 26 next year. “One month’s time will be sufficient for the traders and shopkeepers to use the plastic bags and stop the sale of plastic bags thereafter”, Arthur said.

Hospicio bio-medical waste management once again came under scanner after waste stacked in plastic bags was found dumped within the hospital premises on Sunday.

The hospital management has been resorting to the deep burial method to dispose of the bio-medical waste generated in this government district hospital. However, waste including used syringes and needles were scattered around the place on Sunday raising doubts about the efficacy of the system in place.

Margao Municipal Council’s solid waste management plant finally stands commissioned at Sonsodo. Open dumping of waste is now a thing of the past. But, the civic body has a long way to go in tackling tons of waste generated in the commercial capital, reports Guilherme Almeida

After a bitter experience with Komex International and Hyquip Ltd, Margao Municipal Council’s solid waste treatment plant has finally taken shape at Sonsodo. Fomento Green has commissioned its waste treatment plant at the site as per the concession agreement with the Margao civic body. But, a host of issues remain unresolved, including door-to-door waste collection, landfill site for the residual waste, capping of existing waste, consultant to certify work at the plant and to guide the civic body in signing the modified agreement with Fomento Green.