TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The question over who should bear the cost of the capping of the 25,000 tons of hazardous waste in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate has reached the National Green Tribunal.
After the Goa State Pollution Control Board directed the State Bank of India to bear 50 per cent of the cost for the temporary capping of the waste dump, the SBI has moved the NGT challenging the GSPCB directives. The NGT, sources said, has called for chronology of events leading to the capping of the hazardous waste and a GSPCB team has headed to Pune to file a reply in the case.
GSPCB Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that the Board had raised a bill of Rs seven lakh, which was to be borne by both the SBI and one of the former Directors of Sunrise Zinc. “We had arranged the capping with a condition that the parties to the dispute reimburse the Board the cost of capping. But, SBI has now challenged the Board’s directive to pay the cost of capping”, Noronha informed.
Meanwhile, in a two-pronged strategy aimed at containing pollution at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate, the GSPCB has decided to institute criminal proceedings against the erring units in the court of law. The Board has filed a criminal case in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Margao, against Sagar Feeds Food Processing unit under section 43 of the Water Act for allegedly discharging untreated waste water in the open.
Noronha said that samples collected by the Board officials from Sagar Feeds revealed that they are still discharging untreated waste in the open.
“We have issued a show-cause notice on the owner for closure of the unit and has also instituted criminal proceedings
in the court of law”,
Noronha added.
