MARGAO: The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has pulled up the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) for the widespread release of plastic garbage and sewage into the storm water nullahs and drains under its jurisdiction.
The GSPCB took action in response to a shocking discovery made during last year’s inspection of the nullahs, which showed that sewage, plastic, and non-biodegradable waste were illegally and indiscriminately disposed of into the nullahs, degrading the environment and breaking the 2016 Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules. Under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the GSPCB Chairman Mahesh Patil issued a number of directives to the MMC Chief Officer (CO) Gaurish Sankhwalkar in light of that inspection report.
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The GSPCB Chairman further warned that the Board would be compelled to initiate legal action against the CO without any further notice. First, as noted in the inspection report, the CO has been instructed to remove plastic and non-biodegradable debris from the nullahs right away and to make sure that the aforementioned material is disposed of in a way that makes sense from a scientific standpoint.
The CO has also been instructed by the GSPCB to make sure that no non-biodegradable and plastic trash is disposed of in the nullahs in a way that would violate the 2016 SWM Rules.
Additionally, the GSPCB has instructed the CO to submit a compliance report regarding the directives within seven days of receiving them and submit a detailed action taken report regarding MMC’s compliance with the provisions of the SWM Rules as well as MMC’s actions regarding the collection and disposal of non-biodegradable waste from the areas under its jurisdiction.
