Illegal scrapyards continue to flourish at Colvale

MAPUSA: Almost 55 scrap yards are illegally operating in the jurisdiction of the Colvale village panchayat since last many years. But every time the local panchayat decides to act against them, the scrap yard operators knock the doors of the Director of Panchayat (DoP).  While the legal issues are pending for many years before the DoP, these scrapyard owners continue to operate brazenly. 

In the last incident which occurred in December 2022, a fire broke out at Colvale in which four scrap yards were gutted and one person died. This had raised major safety concerns over these illegally operating scrap yards in midst of a residential and congested areas where at the time of emergency, the fire tenders or ambulance would not be able to reach.

The situation was such that the fire and emergency department had to use almost 3.50 lakh litres of water to douse the fire. However, it looks like the authorities, especially the directorate of panchayat, have learnt nothing from this incident as these scrap yards are operating freely.

According to sources, most of these scrap yards are located on private land while some are standing on agricultural lands with proper electricity and water connection.

“It’s high time that the government intervenes into this matter of scrap yards which are operating illegally. It’s questionable how these scrap yard owners encroach thousands of square meters of land and operate the illegal business right under the nose of the authorities. These scrap yards are not only operating illegally but also damaging the environment,” Prakash Naik a local said. 

“These scrap yards operate illegally and cause extensive0 damage to the environment as they burn hazardous items. They have no toilet facilities or soak pits and workers defecate in the open,” another local stated.

Colvale panch Ritesh Varkhandkar said, “The panchayat is unable to act as the matter is pending the Directorate of Panchayats. These scrap yards continue to operate illegally with free electricity and water connection without paying any tax. During the fortnightly meeting, the members had decided to penalise these scrap yards for operating illegally but there is no such provision for the time being,” Varkhandkar said.