MARGAO: Inspection of the residential houses dotting the banks of River Sal in Velim village for sewage disposal in the river has left the authorities, including the Velim Panchayat in a tight corner.
While day one of the inspection has unearthed a number of houses discharging the sewage water in the river, the households have now told the Velim Panchayat that they are willing to construct septic tanks and soak pits on conditions that the authorities grant them permission for the construction.
This question has brought to the fore a pertinent question whether the households can be permitted to construct the septic tanks and soakpits with the Town and Country Planning department building rules banning soak pits within 15 meters from a water body or river.
While the household owners have conveyed their willingness to go in for the soak pits and septic tanks provided they are granted permission by the TCP and the panchayat body, Velim Sarpanch Melvyn Sanches said he would submit a detailed report on the issue to the Goa State Pollution Control Board on the ground reality at Velim. “I think the government should find a solution to the issue. These houses have been existing for years now. Many of them have no soak pits and septic tanks for want of construction permission. On one hand, you cannot remove the houses and at the same time, they generate sewage which needs to be handled systematically,” Melvyn said.
He said the government should grant exemptions to the households as far as building rules are concerned when they are ready to construct the soak pits and septic tanks given that the sewage finds its way in the river.
When Herald drew attention of Goa State Pollution Control Board Chairman Jose Manuel Norohna, he said the Board can ask the TCP to examine the cases. “Let the ongoing survey get over and we would get a clear picture of the ground reality. We will have to find a way out if the TCP building rules comes in the way of construction of the septic tanks and soak pits,” Norohna said.
Meanwhile, the GSPCB chairman said the Board would immediately issue direction to the Balli Primary Health Centre to assist the Velim Panchayat to survey the households on the banks of river Sal in Velim discharging waste in the river.
