The public toilet that has been served notices by the GSPCB for allegedly not operating the STP plant. Captured by : Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
A day after the villagers of Colva caught red-handed discharge of raw sewage from the public toilet into the Colva creek, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has directed the public toilet contractor at the Colva parking area to ensure that the STP is operational on a regular basis at all time of operation of the toilet facility.
GSPCB Member Secretary Dr Shamila Monteiro has further directed the public toilet contractor to ensure that the treated effluent water conforms to the permissible limits as stipulated in the consent issued by the Board. Issuing directions under section 33(A), read with section 25/26, of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the pay toilet contractor has been directed that no raw sewage is released in the surrounding areas, failing which the Board has warned of stringent legal action, including penalty under the Polluter Pays principle.
The GSPCB Member Secretary further directed the contractor to submit the compliance report to the Board office within 15 days from the date of receipt of the direction. The Board has warned that failure to comply with the directions will compel it to initiate stringent legal action under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, without any further notice.
The GSPCB issued the directions based on an inspection of the STP and the surrounding area. Despite the inspection on Tuesday, the contractor allegedly continued to discharge raw sewage into the creek, the Board said.
During the inspection, the GSPCB team had observed that the public toilet is being utilised by the public but pointed out that the STP of the facility was not operational during the inspection. It was further revealed that during the inspection, the STP area was locked and was not accessible to carry out an inspection. Upon enquiring at the pay counter of the toilet, the GSPCB team was informed that the STP only operates during night for two hours. The Board said the public toilet has the STP of capacity 40 KLD and the consent to operate it was obtained on October 6, 2022.
“Subsequently, based on the news reflected in the public media dated 14/03/2024 regarding Colva citizens and Village Panchayat members catching red-handed GTDC Sulabh Toilet employees discharging raw sewage in Colva Creek right on the beach, it is evident that the raw sewage was seen released from the STP of the Public Toilet into the Colva Creek,” the notice stated.
While stating that it was observed during the course of inspection that the STP area was locked and was not operational and traces of release of raw sewage were seen on the bank of Colva Creek, the GSPCB Member Secretary asserted that the observations in the report of inspection indicates that the unit is being operated in violation under the provisions of the under section 33(A) read with section 25/26 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, thereby causing environment pollution in the vicinity.
