Rs 15cr Cuncolim hazardous waste disposal plan stalled

Margao: Over 50,000 metric tonnes of hazardous waste left behind by a defunct zinc company at the Cuncolim Industrial Development Corporation estate continue to lie untouched, as a Rs 15-crore disposal plan awaits state approval, official documents accessed by TOI reveal.

The waste is legacy material from Sunrise Zinc Limited, which ceased operations in 2007 following high court directions. In 2008, the State Bank of India’s Stressed Asset Management Branch took possession of the company’s assets under the SARFAESI Act. The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in an order dated Dec 11, 2014 had ruled that the SBI would bear no further financial liability for the waste’s disposal, directing GSPCB to take immediate steps instead.

The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) had written to the state’s science, technology and waste management department requesting disposal through the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC), and had also sought 90% funding from the Union ministry of environment under the Environmental Relief Fund. Even though state govt made provisions in the 2025-26 budget, the project remains on hold pending its approval.

The GSPCB has forwarded a quotation of Rs 15 crore from M/s Ponda Envocare Limited, Pissurlem — the designated Common Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (CHWTSDF) in Goa — for transportation and disposal of the waste.

As an interim measure, the GSPCB has been covering the hazardous dump with tarpaulin sheets every monsoon season to prevent leaching into surrounding water bodies. Over the past five years alone, this annual exercise has cost the board nearly Rs 25,000. Besides, GSPCB has transferred Rs 2 crore from its Polluter Pays fund to GWMC towards eventual disposal costs.

GSPCB has been covering the dump with tarpaulin each monsoon to prevent leaching, spending at least Rs 25,000 over five years. It has transferred Rs 2 crore from its Polluter Pays fund to GWMC for disposal. A decade after the NGT order, the waste remains at the site.