Fragmented efforts, weak enforcement, and lack of inter-agency coordination stall progress on one of State’s most polluted urban rivers
MAPUSA
Even as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has flagged the Mapusa and Sal rivers among Goa’s most polluted stretches, a closer look at the government’s response reveals a stark contrast: while the Sal has seen structured intervention, efforts to revive the Mapusa river remain fragmented, reactive, and largely invisible on the ground.
Monitoring without a roadmap
Officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) maintain that the Mapusa river is under “continuous monitoring” as part of the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. However, unlike the Sal river, there is no publicly articulated, river-specific rejuvenation plan for Mapusa.
Environmentalists point out that the river – flowing through densely urbanised belts of Bardez – is under pressure from untreated sewage, commercial discharge, and solid waste dumping, issues acknowledged in State reports.
A recent assessment flagged contamination across several rivers, including Mapusa, due to “unregulated discharge from commercial establishments...and poorly treated sewage from urban settlement encroachment.”
A senior official, requesting anonymity, said the Board’s current approach is largely diagnostic. “We are collecting data and identifying hotspots, but enforcement depends on coordination with local bodies and other departments,” the official said.
Unlike targeted interventions, this has meant that pollution sources – including nullahs carrying untreated waste into the river – continue largely unchecked.
Absence of a dedicated action plan
Sources in the Water Resources Department admitted that while discussions have been held on improving water quality in the Mapusa river, “no comprehensive, time-bound action plan like the Sal river model has been finalised so far.”
Local activists say this gap is critical
“Monitoring without enforcement is meaningless. The Mapusa river is effectively an urban drain in several stretches. There is no urgency comparable to what we are seeing in Sal,” said Gauresh Naik, a local resident who has been campaigning against the deteriorating Mapusa river.
Sal river: A template in progress
In contrast, the Sal river has seen sustained regulatory attention, driven partly by court interventions and long-standing public pressure.
The GSPCB has initiated steps such as: GIS-based mapping to identify exact pollution sources along the river, joint inspections involving multiple agencies to trace effluent discharge points, and implementation of a river action plan, including sewage network expansion and treatment infrastructure.
The Sal river had earlier been identified nationally as a polluted stretch based on high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels, prompting a Rs 61-crore pollution control project involving sewerage systems and a sewage treatment plant.
Officials say the key shift in Sal has been moving from “general monitoring to source-specific intervention.”
“Unless you identify the source, you cannot fix the problem – that is why mapping is critical,” a senior GSPCB official had said while outlining the Sal strategy.
Why Mapusa is falling behind
Experts attribute the lag in Mapusa river restoration to three key factors:
Urban complexity: The river passes through heavily built-up areas like Mapusa town, where sewage networks are incomplete and illegal connections are difficult to regulate.
Institutional overlap: Multiple agencies – municipal bodies, panchayats, and sewerage departments – share responsibility, often leading to diffused accountability.
Lack of judicial push: Unlike Sal, which has seen court-monitored interventions, Mapusa has not yet triggered similar legal scrutiny.
The road ahead
There are indications that the government may replicate elements of the Sal model – including source mapping and inter-departmental coordination – for other rivers.
But unless translated into a concrete action plan with timelines, funding, and accountability, the Mapusa river risks remaining a case of “studied neglect.”
For now, the contrast is telling: where the Sal river is seeing a structured, if slow, clean-up push, the Mapusa river continues to wait for its turn – and a plan.
