PANJIM: All dairy farmers and gaushala unit operators in the State will now have to obtain consent to establish and operate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) within the next 30 days.
The public notice in this regard has been issued in view of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order enforcing that dairy farms and gaushalas need to obtain consent to establish and consent to operate under Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981 as per the categorisation of industries.
As per the livestock Census carried out by the Department of Animal Husbandry in 2012, Goa has total 41,000 cows and buffaloes.
The consents are to be obtained online through OCMMS system on the portal www.goaocmms.in.
As per the Board, the dairy farms where animals (cows/buffaloes) are housed to produce milk for distribution and supply to processing plants as well as standalone or isolated dairy farm having 15 animals and more are categorised under orange category.
Gaushalas were cows are housed for rehabilitation and having wastewater more than 100 KLD are also classified under orange category, the rest fall under Green category.
As per the guidelines laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the local governing bodies have to carry out inventory of all the dairy farms and gaushalas located in their jurisdiction and the same has to be shared with the State Pollution authority on regular basis.
The concerned local bodies/corporations/SPCBs/PCCs should monitor the dairy farms and gaushalas on regular basis to ensure the proper disposal of cattle dung and wastewater in compliance with the environmental norms.
