MARGAO
Another round of inspection by authorities in the commercial capital has brought to the fore the same old question of whether the latest inspection will help plug the flow of sewage from the commercial establishments and residential houses into the stormwater drains and water bodies or will the exercise meet the same fate of the host of inspections, which had ended in futility over the years?
What brought officials of different agencies on the ground Tuesday was the High Court’s deadline of four weeks for the departments to work out a solution to stop the flow of sewage in the open drains and nullahs.
The Goa State Pollution Control Board-arranged inspection saw officials of the Margao Municipal Council, PWD, sewerage corporation and the health authority descending on the Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) located opposite the once picturesque Salpem lake “ which is the centre of attention given the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Navelim resident Antonio Alvares.
The team hopped from Salpem lake to Colmorod, to the Gandhi market and the station, besides inspecting hotels and residential houses, only to find many an establishment not connected to the underground sewerage line. The inspection team found that a couple of hotels in the heart of the town were still not connected to the underground line, either because the owners have not applied for the connections or the connections are pending because of technical issues.
As the team capped the inspection around noon, the moot question that remained unanswered is -- can the inspection bring about a change in the ground reality in the commercial capital?
An official accompanying the team informed The Goan that there’s some ray of seeing a ray of hope with the issue now under the High Court’s lens. He, however, hastened to add that one should not expect immediate results from the inspection, with the monsoons having set in, ruling out road digging for laying underground lines and issuing new connections.
“At least till September, we may not be able to change the ground reality for the simple reason that one cannot lay the underground line. But, we can certainly use the intervening months of June, July and August to set in motion the process to complete the paperwork ahead of issuing the connections,” the official added.
Another official favoured a carrot and stick policy to get the owners to connect their establishment and premises to the underground line. It was pointed out that the Margao municipality and the health department have a major role to play in stopping the flow of sewage into the stormwater drains and nullahs.
The official pointed out that they are waiting for the GSPCB Member Secretary to unveil the road map on how to go about the job of getting the establishments and households connected to the underground line.
An MMC official told The Goan that the civic body will start issuing notices to the erring establishments and residential houses to obtain the sewage connections.
“The municipal council has issued 100-odd notices on the establishments and houses, of which, 30 have replied that they have either obtained the connection or have applied to the PWD,” he said while disclosing plans to issue disconnecting notices to the erring establishments in coordination with the health department.
MMC team to now focus on
Malbhat stormwater nullah
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
While the focus of the joint inspection was centred on the Kudchadkar stormwater nullah, bringing sewage and wastewater from the heart of the town, a Margao Municipal official has pointed out that the team will now also focus on the Malbhat stormwater nullah to check the sewage flow.
“The MMC now intends to inspect the areas around the Margao station road and the residential localities, to find out whether the sewage is flowing from these areas. Since the High Court is monitoring the issue, the MMC will take the inspection to the logical conclusion,” the official said.
A health official pointed out that the whip cracked by the department against a residential society brought instant results after the society obtained the sewage connections.
“We will focus on the areas where the underground sewage line is laid, but the people have still not taken the connections,” the official added.
What is the fate of notices issued to
erring businesses, housing societies?
MARGAO:
Will the Margao Municipal officials explain the fate of the hundreds of notices issued by the civic body to erring business establishments and housing societies for releasing the sewage in the stormwater drains?
Following directions issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the rejuvenation of the river Sal, sources said the MMC had issued over 400 notices to the commercial establishments and the residential houses for discharging the sewage in the drains and gutters. After initial action, officials in private informed that the MMC went slow over the action, before abandoning the drive. An official did not rule out the hand of politicians for scuttling the drive after the erring establishment owners knocked on their doors for protection.
