The sands of Goa, on which million of tourists spend time – Europeans sunbathing and spending hours on the sand under the blazing sun – has the highest quantity of debris and plastic amongst all coastal States. This was concluded by a study conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM). The study found that the Goa coast has debris amounting to 205.75 grams per square metre which is the highest, and plastic at at 25.47 grams per square metre.
The report that was prepared after incorporating comments and suggestions of people, stakeholders on the draft ESMF disclosed earlier this year, found that the plastic litter included single-use carry bags and sachets of soft drinks, edible oils, detergents, beverages, cases of cosmetics, toothpaste, PET bottles, ice cream containers, etc. Where does all this plastic litter come from? Does it wash ashore brought by the waves that crash on the sand, or is it part of the litter that is left behind by the tourists and others who frequent the beach? Carry bags, sachets of soft drinks, beverages and PET bottles, besides being washed ashore, could also have been left behind by those who frequent the beaches. The others plastic litter would possibly come in with the tide.
This throws up a huge question on the efficacy of the multi-crore beach cleaning contracts that Goa has awarded to various companies to keep the sands of Goa clean and free of garbage for the tourists. If after spending such huge amounts in beach cleaning, the State’s beaches have the most litter among all States in the country, it definitely calls to question whether the beach cleaning is effective. If the question is to be answered by this study then the beach cleaning operations have not been successful. So either the beach cleaning methods need to be changed, or the garbage on the beaches is increasing, or a shoddy job is being done.
Garbage on the beach is not just unsightly that could turn away tourists, but also has other impacts that are far more serious. As per the report, coastal litter impacts in multiple ways. It degrades the quality and health of the ocean, damages coastal and marine habitats and harms marine biota. Plastic, of course, is a major ocntaminant. The report states that it enters the coastal and marine ecosystem either directly, by illegal dumping or accidental loss of debris during fishing, cargo operations and oil rings or indirectly by the way of wind, rivers, streams, and storm drains. This is a serious issue and needs to be tackled before it grows.
The fact remains that while Goa has been spending crores on beach cleaning, there has never been any proper monitoring done to ensure that the contractor has been undertaking the task in the most effective manner. In future beach cleaning contracts the State could possibly include a penalty clause whereby the agency is docked a certain amount for inefficiency. If this is not done, then the government will only end up paying the agency contracted to clean the beaches without ever confirming whether the task has been completed or whether there remains anything more that needs to be done.
Right now, it is obvious that a lot more needs to be done to keep the beaches clean. A new agency began the task of beach cleaning last month at the cost of Rs 38 crore. The contracting department of the government must monitor the process so that the beaches are all kept clean. Goa does not need to once again find that it has the most litter on the beaches compared to all other States of the country.
