MARGAO: With the High Court (HC) set to hear the pollution-related case of Saipem lake and River Sal on April 10, the Margao Municipal Council (MMC), Public Works Department, and other concerned authorities are scrambling to connect the slums of Azad Nagar to the sewerage network. This comes after Navelim resident Antonio Alvares filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the HC, urging the authorities to take swift action against the discharge of wastewater into the lake.

At the previous hearing, the HC had pulled up the MMC and PWD, directing them to connect houses in the Azad Nagar area to the sewerage line to prevent further pollution, and had asked that an affidavit with the timeline of the action-plan be submitted on April 10. The HC even warned the MMC that it would have to bear the costs of the sewerage connections if the issue was not resolved soon.

Now, as the HC hearing approaches, PWD has issued a notification stating that the cost of sewerage connections will be recovered in instalments, from households’ future water bills. MMC has compiled a list of 101 applications and is pushing for the remaining 50 households to submit theirs. Meanwhile, PWD has started the process of issuing sewerage connections to 150-odd homes with water connections in Azad Nagar. Two public toilets were also recently connected to the sewerage line.

Despite MMC’s recent inspection, Alvares and farmers from Saipem Lake remain dissatisfied as waste water continues to be released into the water body.

With the case at a critical juncture, the pressure is on for the authorities to act quickly and decisively to

address the pollution crisis in the area.