Over the years, Cuncolim Industrial Estate has been at the centre of several pollu tion-related controversies, and this time acting on a report submitted by the Mamlatdar of Salcete, the Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Salcete, has issued a conditional order against Quality Exports, a fish mill unit operating in the industrial estate, for allegedly discharging foul waste water and garbage outside the estate’s compound wall, causing a serious public nuisance.
The SDM noted that wastewater ponds were detect ed outside the factory premises in Survey Nos 335/1, 335/11, 335/12 (part), 336/8 and 336/9 of Cuncolim. The sites which have since been filled with soil and mud were reportedly emanating a strong stench of rotten fish, while garbage was also found dumped in the open. The report confirmed that the discharge and foul smell were inconveniencing residents and posed a health hazard, fall ing under the definition of nuisance under Section 152 of the BNSS. The conditional order directs Quality Exports to stop and remove the nuisance within eight days or to appear before the SDM on September 24, 2025 at 3 pm to file their say with relevant documents and permissions. Failing compliance, the order warns that it will be made abso lute and enforced against the company. The development comes after sustained complaints from residents and activists in Cuncolim, who had repeatedly al leged that fish mill units in the IDC were polluting the envi ronment and discharging untreated effluents into adjoining private lands. The issue had triggered site inspections earli er this month, with locals claiming that attempts were made to cover up the wastewater ponds with mud. The Cuncolim IDC has been at the centre of several pol lution-related controversies over the years, with villagers often accusing authorities of turning a blind eye to the op erations of fish mill factories despite mounting evidence of environmental damage. In 2018, a similar proposal for a fish meal plant was scrapped after widespread opposition. With the SDM’s order now in force, all eyes will be on whether the company complies with the directive or con tests it before the deadline, even as public anger continues to mount over the persistent stench and pollution from the estate.