MARGAO
Are the High Court’s directions on the maintenance of Goa’s lone wholesale fish market, owned and operated by the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA), implemented in both letter and spirit by the authorities?
Both the SGPDA and the Margao Municipal Council, the authorities mandated by the High Court, may claim they take care of the market maintenance, including disposal of the thermocol waste generated on the wholesale fish market road.
Then what about the thermocol and other waste found in the adjoining River Sal and the lush fields adjoining the wholesale fish market? Do these areas not come under the jurisdiction of the SGPDA or the Margao Municipality? If yes, which are the authorities responsible for handling the thermocol and other waste disposed of in the adjoining fields and the river? Is the waste collected from the wholesale fish market disposed of in a scientific manner or disposed of behind the market in the fields?
In the recent past, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) was directed by the High Court to conduct a joint inspection of the wholesale fish market along with the SGPDA and MMC and report the factual position. Is the GSPCB monitoring the situation in and around the wholesale fish market and whether the Board has taken cognizance of the thermocol waste flowing into the river Sal from the market and issued directions to the concerned authorities for action?
These and other questions have come to the fore months after the High Court intervention had put a system for waste disposal, especially thermocol waste, promising to bring about a change in the unhygienic conditions in Goa’s lone wholesale fish market.
A visit to the area showed that while workers were engaged in the cleaning up of the wholesale fish market, thermocol and other waste were found lying unattended on the adjoining fields. Thermocol waste has found its way into the adjoining fields and on the banks of river Sal.
The thermocol waste in River Sal was found accumulated near the barrage constructed by the Water Resources department, just metres away from the culvert.
That thermocol waste is found in the river Sal and the fields has thrown up a question -- which agency is responsible for the disposal of the waste if it does not fall in the jurisdiction of the SGPDA and the MMC.
A similar situation arose around the wholesale fish market in October 2023 after the High Court’s attention was drawn to thermocol waste lying in the adjoining fields and the River Sal. The High Court had then ordered a joint inspection by the MMC and the SGPDA after the pollution control board filed an inspection report shedding light on the unused thermocol boxed as well as dry garbage still lying in and around the wholesale fish market.
Since then, the MMC and the SGPDA have put in place a system for the disposal of the thermocol waste and the maintenance of the market respectively, but the presence of thermocol waste in the fields and River Sal adjoining the wholesale fish market has thrown up questions over the effectiveness of the mechanism in place.
