AUTHORITIES' REPLIES TO COURT
*The government lawyer submitted that some notices have been issued to the alleged violators and such notices will be taken to their logical conclusion within four weeks from today. This statement is accepted
*Sewerage & Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa submitted that sewerage main lines have been provided in the area. It was stated that if there are any minor issues, the same will be sorted out within the next four weeks
*Margao Municipal Council submitted that hearings have been given in the show-cause notices, but for some unavoidable reasons, there has been some delay. The MMC submitted that the show-cause notices will be disposed of within four weeks from today. The civic body stated that even this issue of drains discharging sewerage from far and wide into the fields/lakes will be considered by the council and some solution will be found on this aspect as well
*Goa State Pollution Control Board submitted that within four weeks, the notices issued by it will be disposed of
Petitioner Antonio Alvares Speaks
*"My intention of filing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the High Court is not to harass anyone, but to ensure that sewage and wastewater from Margao do not find its way in the drains, lakes and fields."
*"I have submitted before the High Court that the Margao Municipal Council must initiate steps to redress the issue if the fields/lakes are to be seriously protected."
*"Sewage discharged from Margao has destroyed the once-picturesque Salpem lake. Though the PWD claims that they have been channelizing the sewage waters to the STP near the Kudchadkar hospital, the sewage coming to the area from the city has contaminated the underground water."
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THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
Can the Margao Municipal Council or the Goa State Pollution Control Board, Sewerage & Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa stop the rampant discharge of sewage and wastewater from commercial establishments and residential houses into the city drains within four weeks?
The clock has started ticking for these authorities as the High Court has granted four week-time to the Margao Municipal Council to crack a whip against erring establishments, and households and find a solution to the burning issue so that sewerage is not discharged into the fields and lakes through such drains.
Officials in the know say that the MMC and the GPSCB indeed have a task at hand how to go about the job of plugging the sewage flow into the city drains within four weeks -- whether to crack a whip against the erring establishments and households by disconnecting water supply or compel the commercial outlets and residential societies to connect their premises to the underground sewerage network.
A glance at the High Court order dated June 14 clearly shows that agencies, including the MMC and GSPCB, are banking on the show-cause notices issued to the establishments to take the proposed action against the violators to the logical conclusion.
Consider this. The Margao Municipal Council had issued notices to around 100-odd establishments and housing societies found discharging sewage and wastewater in the city drains. If Margao Municipal Council officials are to be believed, around 30 establishments and residential houses have complied with the notices by getting their premises to the sewerage network, while another 20 have claimed that they have applied for the connections.
After the June 14 High Court order, the Margao Municipal Council and GSPCB are now bracing up to hear the remaining parties on priority and initiate action.
An MMC official told The Goan that the 100-odd notices issued to the violators may be just the tip of the iceberg given the magnitude of the problem staring at the city.
“The establishments which were issued the show-cause notices are all located in the main city, where the sewerage corporation has laid the underground sewage network. We will direct the owners either to connect their premises to the underground network or face disconnection of water supply,” the official said.
An official of the Sewerage & Infrastructure Development Corporation has claimed that the underground sewerage network is in place in the heart of the city.
“There may be minor issues here and there, but the underground line is already laid,” he said, adding "The PWD and the corporation will release the connections upon application received from the parties.”
With the High Court accepting the submissions made by the MMC, GSPCB and Sewerage Corporation, they are now required to file additional affidavit/status reports in the court by July 21 before the matter comes up for further consideration on July 25.
Pollution board meets with authorities over action plan
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
Against the backdrop of the four-week deadline set by the High Court to work out a solution to the sewage discharge in Margao drains, Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPBC) Member Secretary Dr Shamila Monteiro chaired a meeting on Thursday with the concerned authorities to put an action plan in place.
After the meeting, Dr Monteiro told The Goan that a joint inspection of the areas along the stormwater nullahs and drains leading to the Salpem lake will soon take place, to take the High Court observations and the deadline, to work out a solution to the logical conclusion.
"We are confident of putting a solution in place within the next four weeks. As a first step, the area will be inspected by the officials of various agencies before an action plan is put in place to find out a solution,” she said.
Dr Monteiro further said agencies such as the Margao Municipal Council have to expedite hearings on the notices already issued to the violators and take the process to a logical conclusion.
Sources said areas such as Navelim, Aquem and Margao will be inspected by officials of the PWD, Sewerage Corporation, MMC and the health department to assess the ground reality.
