The cashew conspiracy at Vidyanagar

There comes a point when the persistent engagement with national controversies and metropolitan debates leaves a fatigue that is both intellectual and moral. For a Goan writer contributing to a Goan newspaper, there is merit in pausing to examine the seemingly small but deeply corrosive issues that quietly shape life in the State. It is in these spaces, in unremarkable residential lanes and ordinary neighbourhoods, that the foundations of civic life are tested. When ethical standards are abandoned and governance is reduced to a ritual of appearances, even the air one breathes can become a contested right.

Lingering smoke in a
residential neighbourhood

Since January 2025, residents of Vidyanagar Colony in Margao, particularly along Lane 2, have experienced a persistent infiltration of smoke from the roasting of cashew kernels. This is no fleeting whiff; it is a sustained invasion, entering homes through any window left ajar. The smell is distinctive, rooted in the tannins and oils released during roasting, and laced with a fine particulate that suspends in the air. It leaves a burning sensation in the lungs, and for the elderly or those with respiratory conditions, the effect is pronounced and immediate.

Hidden commercial
operation

Attempts to locate the source have been met with a shroud of secrecy. The roasting is not done in the open, but from within concealed premises, its operators shielded from casual observation. Yet, the sheer volume of smoke and the regularity of its occurrence suggest a commercial enterprise, not a domestic pastime. Crucially, there are no cashew plantations in Vidyanagar Colony or its surrounding neighbourhoods that would justify the presence of a roasting unit in such close proximity to homes. It is evident that the purpose is financial gain, profit extracted at the expense of an entire neighbourhood’s right to breathe clean air.

The silence of
the informed

Perhaps the most troubling dimension is that Vidyanagar Lane 2 is home to individuals who have served in the Margao Municipal Council and the Block Development Office. These are not lay residents unfamiliar with civic regulations; they are former administrative functionaries who understand the statutory framework governing public health and environmental protection. Their silence is not born of ignorance but of a wilful decision to turn away from the problem, allowing it to persist under their watch.

Loopholes and
legal evasion

An incident from last year reveals the strategic exploitation of regulatory gaps. At a nearby cyber café, a couple produced a show cause notice for excessive smoke and offensive odour. The proprietor offered a pathway to evade scrutiny: register the roasting under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as a food business, thereby sidestepping environmental clearances from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and inspections from the health department. This reclassification, on paper a benign formality, in practice allowed the activity to continue without emission controls or public health safeguards. The result has been predictable, with heightened risk for residents, particularly the vulnerable, while the operators profit without accountability.

The administrative
merry-go-round

Efforts to seek official intervention reveal a procedural obstacle course designed more to exhaust complainants than to address grievances. Initial contact with the FDA office in Bambolim produced a single question: could the complainant identify the operators? Without such knowledge, no notice could be issued. Advised to contact the FDA office in Margao, the process was repeated, only to be redirected to the GSPCB in Panjim. There, the advice was to call the police to report a public nuisance, and then, if unresolved, to send formal letters to the GSPCB. Each agency, while acknowledging the problem in principle, deferred action until another had moved first. This bureaucratic chain not only delays relief but implicitly protects those causing the harm.

The toll on health
and wellbeing

The most persistent cost is the continuous sensory assault, with smoke that overstimulates the senses, inflames the nasal sinuses, and compromises breathing. For the elderly, these effects are magnified, manifesting as respiratory overload. The physiological impact is a daily reminder that environmental harm is not an abstract legal breach but a tangible health hazard. The key question remains: how can such a commercial activity be permitted within a residential zone without compliance with chimney installation norms, fire safety standards, and environmental clearances? If proper emission controls were in place, the smoke would not enter homes at window height; its intrusion is evidence of untreated and improperly released effluents.

Complacency
as complicity

Beyond administrative inertia lies a more insidious problem: public complacency. In the absence of collective objection, the nuisance becomes normalised. Whether from fear of community fracture or a simple resignation to decline, the silence of the majority emboldens the few who exploit it. When residents themselves accept substandard air quality, the constitutional promise of the right to life under Article 21 is diminished from within.

This is not an isolated neighbourhood dispute. It is a litmus test for the effectiveness of Goa’s environmental governance. If a clandestine, profit-driven, polluting activity can operate in plain sight of former municipal officials and under the jurisdiction of multiple regulatory bodies without consequence, then the problem is systemic. Vidyanagar’s experience warns that environmental law in Goa risks becoming a paper exercise unless enforcement is proactive, coordinated, and unafraid of local influence.

A call for enforcement
without evasion

The way forward is neither mysterious nor unattainable. The GSPCB must investigate air quality violations in Vidyanagar Lane 2 without waiting for complainants to produce names. The FDA must ensure that FSSAI registration is not misused as a shield against environmental compliance. The Margao Municipal Council must inspect and shut down unlicensed commercial operations in residential areas. Fire safety authorities must verify that all necessary precautions and emission controls are in place before granting or renewing any operational permissions.

The cashew roasting at Vidyanagar is more than a local inconvenience; it is a breach of a fundamental environmental right. It reflects the intersection of profit motives, regulatory gaps, and societal acquiescence. To address it is to reaffirm that in Goa, the law still values the lived experience of its citizens. The air over Lane 2 must be restored to what it should have always been: clear, clean, and free from the haze of neglect.