MAPUSA
The State’s air pollution watchdog has the statutory powers to act against those violating air pollution norms, but identifying and scientifically establishing the source of pollution remains its biggest challenge, Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Chairman Pradip Sarmokadam has said.
With air quality deteriorating across parts of Goa on Diwali, the question of whether the Board is merely monitoring pollution levels or taking action against those responsible has come into sharper focus.
Sarmokadam maintained that the GSPCB does not restrict itself to recording Air Quality Index (AQI) readings and that its engineers conduct inspections and initiate follow-up action wherever pollution sources can be identified.
“If I don’t know the source of the pollutant, then we are helpless and cannot enforce our powers. But if we can identify the source, then definitely we can act,” he said, acknowledging that tracing pollution to a specific entity and scientifically attributing the emissions to it were the two major hurdles.
Explaining the enforcement mechanism, the chairman said the Board first issues a show-cause notice to the polluting entity. If the response is unsatisfactory or no reply is received, it can issue directions for sealing the establishment and also impose environmental compensation under the relevant provisions of the law.
He said the Board had exercised these powers in the past, particularly in cases involving identifiable industrial sources and supporting inspection reports.
Citing the example of the Cuncolim industrial estate, Sarmokadam said whenever monitoring indicates excessive pollution, the Board immediately writes to the industrial estate management and calls upon it to ensure measures such as water sprinkling on roads.
Its junior engineers are also deputed to inspect the area and check whether any unit is emitting pollutants.
The chairman, however, drew a distinction between industrial pollution, where the source can potentially be traced to a particular unit, and pollution caused by activities such as bursting of firecrackers during festivals.
In Panaji, the rise in AQI during Diwali was largely attributed to firecracker burning.
While the Board issued advisories urging people to use green crackers, Sarmokadam said it could not abruptly stop festivities, particularly when religious sensitivities were involved.
Through the Sadguru Foundation, the Board also distributed green crackers in areas witnessing large-scale celebrations. He said the initiative was a beginning and that making green crackers available well in advance next year could help reduce pollution.
The Diwali spike has once again brought attention to the gap between monitoring air quality and enforcing pollution-control measures.
While the Board maintains that it has the legal authority to act, its ability to identify the source and establish scientific evidence will ultimately determine how effectively those powers are exercised.
