WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has instructed the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), and the Colva village panchayat to make the public toilet at Colva beach operational from Thursday.
The court has also called upon the Colva Civic and Consumer Forum to submit an affidavit by April 24, confirming whether they or their members have secured connections to the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). Additionally, the Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Limited has been tasked with providing an updated status report on the STP plant at Colva. The directive comes after the closure of the public toilet by the Colva panchayat due to concerns about raw sewage discharge into the Colva creek. However, the additional government advocate informed the court that the public toilet is equipped with a dedicated STP and has obtained consent from the GSPCB.
As a result, the court has mandated the presence of GTDC officials, the contractor, GSPCB officials, and the Colva panchayat secretary at the public toilet site on Thursday at 11 am to ensure the operationalisation of the public toilet and guarantee that sewage is treated at the designated STP.
Notices have been issued to 43 commercial establishments to connect to the STP, with the GSPCB urged to expedite this process. There is no clarity about how these 43 establishments were treating their sewage as the petitioners complained that sewage was being discharged into the Colva Creek. “The GSPCB must direct the commercial establishments to connect the common STP failing which it must consider whether such establishments should be allowed to function,” said the court, posting the matter on April 24.
