TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: All the industrial units, hotels and eateries operating without Consent to Operate under Air and Water Act have been asked by Goa State Pollution Control Board to apply for the same immediately, failing which the units will have to be close down.
Industries, restaurants, bars and shacks have been given three weeks time to apply or face the music.
This is in pursuance to a June 3, National Green Tribunal (NGT) order directing pollution control boards across the country to close down all units, including hotels, running without the Consent to Operate under the Air and Water Acts.
The GSPCB Board of Directors which met on Monday have also decided to seek three months time from NGT to submit their compliance report and constitute a four members sub-committee headed by Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce to look into the around 2000 eateries and 500 industrial units which are running without Consent.
GSPCB Chairman Jose Manual Noronha said that the Board will be writing to the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) seeking three months time for compliance. The NGT order has directed GSPCB to file action taken report (ATR) within three weeks.
“The order is applicable to all those units that are indulged in water and air pollution,” he said.
The sub-committee has submitted recommendation to the Board stating that units should submit applications for Consent with onetime fee each for the Air and Water consent within three weeks. “The Board shall process the application and grant consent if the industry is complying with all their norms subject to the condition that industry will pay balance fees in case the government does not accept the recommendation of waiver of past fees and late fees,” the recommendation approved by Board members read.
Noronha said that Board will be submitting a proposal to government for waiver of the past fees and late fees and for appropriate amendment in the Water and Air Rules on top priority.
The hotel and industrial players had raised worries over NGT order, which, if implemented, would have affected almost 50 percent of units.
The Directorate of Industry, Trade and Commerce had decided to approach GSPCB demanding revision of the NGT order on the grounds that the order is bad in law and has been pronounced without giving a hearing to the affected parties. However, GSPCB denied that they had received any such proposal.
