MARGAO
What’s next on Margao Municipal Council’s agenda is a question staring at the civic body, days after it embarked on an unprecedented exercise of serving show cause notices on a whopping 250 households, including around 70 commercial establishments for discharging sewage and wastewater in the storm water drains?
Reason: With the issue of sewage discharge in the storm water nullahs coming under the High Court’s close scrutiny, the MMC went about the job of serving the show cause notices on the establishments and households to stop discharging sewage and wastewater in the public drains or face action.
Has the initiative brought any turnaround on the ground? So far, most of the households and establishments have replied back, denying outright the contents in the show cause notice that they are discharging waste into the drains.
In turn, the MMC has forwarded the replies to the PWD for verification and asked the agency to take steps to connect the premises to the underground sewerage line, apparently passing the buck to the PWD and the Sewerage Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd to take forward the process to a logical conclusion.
But has the initiative brought any turnaround on the ground? No, not at all, sources in the Margao Municipal Council confirmed to The Goan. And, if one goes by a recent joint inspection carried out by officials of the MMC and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), the discharge of sewage and wastewater in the public and storm water drains has not stopped, throwing up a simple question “ has the buck stopped at the doorsteps of the PWD and the SIDCGL?
Margao Municipal Chief Officer Gaurish Sankhwalkar may also face a host of questions. After issuing the show cause notices with much fanfare on the alleged violators under the provisions of the Goa Municipalities Act, the Chief Officer may have to answer a question or two “ how many households and commercial establishments have been penalized with the fine amounting to Rs 5,000 for discharging the wastewater in the drains and whether the civic body has referred any case to the Margao Health Officer and the PWD Assistant Engineer for the disconnection of water to avoid further nuisance and health hazard in the locality.
MMC sources informed that while the civic body has issued notices to 250 households and commercial establishments across the city, a major chunk of the notices pertaining to the area on the city’s southern zone, along the Kudchadkar storm water nullah carrying the sewage and wastewater into the Salpem lake in neighbouring Navelim village.
What’s interesting to note is that an underground sewage line has been laid in the South zone, but an inspection of the storm water drain had recently unearthed sewage and wastewater pipes discharging water in the nullahs and drains.
