Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: In a bid to plug glaring gaps in the State’s hazardous waste management, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday made it mandatory for all waste-generating industries in Goa to sign bi-partite agreements with Ponda Envocare Limited, which operates the Common Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (CHWTSDF) at Pissurlem.
The government has also barred industries from sending such waste outside Goa and warned of stern action, including heavy fines, for illegal dumping in public spaces or water bodies.
Sawant revealed that out of around 350 industries producing hazardous waste, barely 50 are currently disposing of it at the Pissurlem facility. “We have realised that almost 90 per cent of the industries are not using the authorised facility. This will not be tolerated. We have dedicated infrastructure to handle every type of waste,” the CM said after chairing a review meeting on the State’s waste management scenario.
The government will also frame a comprehensive policy to regulate disposal of all categories of waste — industrial, hazardous, chemical, construction and biomedical — and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will strictly monitor compliance.
Last year, a review by the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) revealed 377 major hazardous waste-generating industries in the State, of which 101 had registered with the Goa Industries Environment Management Association (GIEMA), but only 30 had signed agreements with the Pissurlem facility. The CM said this laxity would now end with stricter measures and penalties.
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