GSPCB Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that the owners of all 36 scrap yards had been issued showcause notices and they had to file their replies within 15 days.
He explained that GSPCB had issued orders to the district magistrate to seal five of these scrap yards in April for violating environment norms. However, after they were sealed, the owners approached the High Court, which ordered the unsealing of the scrap yards and for the GSPCB to give the owners a fair hearing.
Noronha stated that the scrap yards were handling waste and other harmful materials that could pollute the groundwater and surrounding areas. He said that when the board carried out an inspection, they found that the scrap yards were operating in an environment that was unsuitable for their kind of work. Some of the scrap yards did not even have permissions.
He further said that GSPCB had received an application from the sarpanch Julio Monteiro asking for the scrap yards to be shut down. Noronha added that they had called on the health department to carry out fumigation and enact measures in every ward.
The health department has already attributed the rising number of dengue cases to the scrap yards and has received applications from other Salcete-based panchayats for taking action to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases.
The department had earlier issued notices to the scrap yard owners. Deputy collector Ajit Panchwadkar said the government would consider cancelling the water and power connections to the scrap yards if the owners don’t comply.
