Complaints and petitions against noise pollution for several years have fallen on deaf ears of our Goa Police. The Ministry of Environment and Forests notified Noise Rules, 2000. After the notification “which is now a law- appeared in the central Gazette and amended from time to time, any person who makes noise after 10.00 pm is to be considered a common criminal . If convicted , he can be safely cured of his tendency to make noise by a long stint of 5 years behind bars plus a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
Now our Goa Minister for Environment proposes to move a bill to amend the Act, which is not a State Act, when the actual law (Noise Rules,2000) has been as part of Central Act, and therefore cannot be changed by an act of the local State Assembly. The Member Secretary of GSPCB published a public notice in the local newspapers on Salient Features of the Action Plan to curb noise pollution. What Goa needs is a Police Act, 1861 to re-organize the police force and to make it more efficient instrument for the prevention and detection of crime.
AJ DE SOUZA, Via email
