PANAJI
The Goa Human Rights Commission has called upon the Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Limited (SIDCGL) to deploy a maintenance team every week to clear sewage overflows at the Central Jail, Colvale, until a tender for a permanent solution is finalised.
The interim direction came on Friday during proceedings on a complaint alleging poor sewage conditions at the jail.
The Commission, comprising Chairperson Justice Bharat P Deshpande and Members Desmond D’Costa and Pramod V Kamat, stated that SIDCGL depute the Maintenance Team for clearing the sewage overflowing from the chambers at the jail. It also stated that the task be carried out every week henceforth, till the tender is finalised.
The direction also comes against the backdrop of an admission by the Superintendent of Prisons, Sucheta Dessai, that the sewage problem persisted since 2021, with soil tankers being regularly deployed to clear the overflows. In the report submitted before the Commission, she revealed that Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 was being spent every month on the exercise.
The report further explained that although a sewage treatment plant (STP) is available, the existing drainage pipelines have small-diameter pipes. As a result, even minor choking of the system, including by cloth or bottles, causes sewage to overflow from the chambers instead of reaching the STP.
Dessai said she had taken charge as SP Prisons on August 1, 2025, and had subsequently taken up the matter with the Public Works Department on several occasions. Letters were sent to the PWD seeking repairs to the sewage system, structural repairs and inspection of the jail blocks, besides forwarding observations of the medical officer at the Primary Health Centre, Colvale, regarding the poor sewage system.
In the absence of a response from the PWD, additional SP Chandrakant Harijan was directed to carry out regular checks and ensure that clogged drains were cleared with the help of inmates. The authorities claimed that the drainage and overhead water-tank cleaning issues had been addressed at the institutional level since February 2026.
The report also records that a team of officials from SIDCGL and the PWD visited the jail on July 2, 2026, following which a status report was sought.
Separately, the jail authorities said they had written to the Executive Engineer, PWD, on July 28 regarding cleaning of the main water sump at Central Jail Colvale, but the work was yet to be addressed. The Chairman of the Board of Visitors had also written to the Executive Engineer on the same date, seeking an action-taken report within five days.
The complaint, filed by Adv Savio Travasso, Nominee of the Board of Visitors at Central Jail Colvale, will further be taken up for reports on September 30.
