Herald Goa: Panaji: Friday, 18 July 2025.
The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will conduct a joint site inspection of the under-construction sewage treatment plant (STP) at Curchorem on Monday, July 21, in coordination with the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), following serious allegations of environmental violations.
The inspection has been
prompted by a formal complaint lodged by environmental activist Aditya Dessai,
who claims that the project went ahead without obtaining the mandatory
environmental impact assessment (EIA) clearance. The STP is being built on the
banks of the Zuari river, and Dessai alleges that mangroves were destroyed due
to landfilling carried out within the high tide line an activity that
contravenes provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1974.
Adding weight to the allegations, a recent response from GSPCB to a Right to Information (RTI) query has confirmed that no EIA report was prepared for the project. The board simply stated: “The EIA report not available.”
According to Dessai, this omission violates the EIA Notification, 2006, as well as a ruling by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that mandates prior environmental clearance for STPs. His complaint also points out that the sewage line for the facility passes through the Cacora Industrial Estate and will carry industrial effluents.
He argues that this places the project squarely under the category of combined effluent treatment plants, for which environmental clearance is compulsory if industrial waste exceeds 10% of the volume handled.
The RTI findings further revealed that while the project had received nods from the local municipal body and the Town and Country Planning Department, these approvals were granted without any form of environmental assessment.
Key project documents, including pre-construction water quality data, public consultation records, and evaluations of mangrove loss, are absent from the official files, according to the RTI response.
In his complaint to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, Dessai has demanded that all approvals issued for the Curchorem STP be withdrawn. He has urged the authorities to carry out a thorough environmental assessment and relocate the plant to a site away from ecologically sensitive zones such as riverbanks, floodplains, and catchment areas.
The RTI documents revealed project received without any form of environmental assessment
Project documents, including pre-construction water quality data, public consultation records, evaluations of mangrove loss absent from the official files
The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will conduct a joint site inspection of the under-construction sewage treatment plant (STP) at Curchorem on Monday, July 21, in coordination with the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), following serious allegations of environmental violations.
Adding weight to the allegations, a recent response from GSPCB to a Right to Information (RTI) query has confirmed that no EIA report was prepared for the project. The board simply stated: “The EIA report not available.”
According to Dessai, this omission violates the EIA Notification, 2006, as well as a ruling by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that mandates prior environmental clearance for STPs. His complaint also points out that the sewage line for the facility passes through the Cacora Industrial Estate and will carry industrial effluents.
He argues that this places the project squarely under the category of combined effluent treatment plants, for which environmental clearance is compulsory if industrial waste exceeds 10% of the volume handled.
The RTI findings further revealed that while the project had received nods from the local municipal body and the Town and Country Planning Department, these approvals were granted without any form of environmental assessment.
Key project documents, including pre-construction water quality data, public consultation records, and evaluations of mangrove loss, are absent from the official files, according to the RTI response.
In his complaint to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, Dessai has demanded that all approvals issued for the Curchorem STP be withdrawn. He has urged the authorities to carry out a thorough environmental assessment and relocate the plant to a site away from ecologically sensitive zones such as riverbanks, floodplains, and catchment areas.
The RTI documents revealed project received without any form of environmental assessment
Project documents, including pre-construction water quality data, public consultation records, evaluations of mangrove loss absent from the official files
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