VASCO: Spelling out her priorities for the port town, newly elected Mormugao Municipal Council Chairperson Fiola Rego said she wants to get the solid waste management plant functioning at Headland-Sada to minimise garbage accumulated in Vasco.

“The MMC, through the intervention of Vasco MLA and KTC Chairman Carlos Almeida, has requested the government to grant a fund of Rs 3.75 crore to start the garbage treatment plant. The council has already appointed a consultant and is capable of treating garbage by December if we receive the required grants from the government,” said Rego.

PANJIM: Goa Mining People’s Front held a public meeting at Curchorem to impress upon the Government to end the mining crisis in the State.

Addressing the meeting All India Trade Union General Secretary Christopher Fonseca said a sudden ban on mining was uncalled for and as a result livelihoods of thousands were affected. He said if the Government fails to resolve the crisis, then the mining-dependent people would be forced to unleash a militant-type struggle to ensure that mining activity commences.

PANJIM/MARGAO: The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will on Tuesday inspect the functioning of the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), of United Marine Products fish meal plant at Cuncolim from which obnoxious smell was allegedly emanating thus creating nuisance for locals.

justify;">The decision was taken following a personal hearing of owner Seby D’Silva by board officials. The plant had been issued show cause notice for causing obnoxious smell and environment pollution in the vicinity.

Will the Cuncolim Industrial Estate be finally rid of the 25,000 tons of Hazardous waste lying in the plot which once housed Ms Sunrise Zinc and is now occupied by Ms Axis Pvt Ltd?

This question has come to the fore as the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has issued directions to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation to set up a captive landfill site to dispose off the hazardous waste.

PANJIM: The Supreme Court’s (SC) Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which was unable to submit its report within the stipulated period to the apex court, has sought additional information from State government over iron ore production, export and sale within the country, for last five years from 2006-2011.

The three members of CEC, who were down in Goa, last month had inspected around 12 mines in North and South Goa. The committee has now asked for additional information on environment clearance, mining plans, production and export along with the royalty figure, for the last five years. The committee has asked for information on sale of iron ore within the country, if any.

PANJIM: Velsao panchayat in Cortalim constituency will be the first to have door to door collection of dry waste as part of a pilot project by Department of Science, Technology & Environment in collaboration with the Directorate of panchayats.

Speaking to media persons, after the meeting with officials of the directorate of panchayats and ‘experts’ on the garbage management including Levinson Martins, the Member Secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, Patricia Pinto CCP councillor, Clinton Vaz and others, Environment Minister Alina Saldanha said that after trying out the system for a month, they would take it to other panchayats as well.

SANGUEM/PONDA: Continuing with its two-day visit to mining sites in the State, the Supreme Court’s three-member Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on Tuesday visited several mines in Dharbandora and Sanguem talukas of South Goa.

In the morning, the three-member CEC comprising P V Jaikrishnan, Mahendra Vyas and Siddharth Chowdhary, visited the Sesa Goa mines in Codli and Fomento mines at Kuddegall, both in Darbandora taluka, to ascertain the impact of mining operations in the two talukas and its effect on the environment.

PANJIM: Construction of the state’s sole hazardous waste treatment plant that would have taken care of total 3.30 lakh metric tones of waste at Dharbandora now seems to be a distant dream, with har

VASCO: Barely days ahead of the October 31 deadline set by South Goa Collector N D Agarwal, all four panchayats in the area are still clueless on ways to clear garbage around Dabolim airport on a daily basis.

With the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) refusing to accept their garbage, the four panchayats of Chicalim, Chicolna-Bogmallo, Sancoale and Velsao-Pale are left with no option to dump garbage in their jurisdiction as they all fall within the 10-km radius of the airport.

PONDA: People in and around Dharbandora have formed the Mining Bachao Samiti (MBS) to demand the resumption of legal mining activity in the State.

At a meeting convened by the Dharbandora Truck Owners Association at Dharbandora recently, the MBS was formed with the involvement of various associations connected to the mining business in the State.