Margao: Curchorem locals pointed out serious environmental violations to officials of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) during a joint inspection of the under-construction sewage treatment plant site at Hodar, Curchorem, on Monday.Activists showed officials the areas where contractors allegedly illegally cleared mangrove forests and filled low-lying areas at the site. The inspection team was also shown locations where banks and catchment areas of a tributary of the Zuari river were allegedly filled with soil and concrete.Aditya Dessai, who filed the complaint that triggered the inspection, said, “This project has bypassed crucial environmental safeguards. The destruction of mangroves, filling of the riverbank, and tampering with natural flood plains are clear violations of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms and the EIA Notification of 2006,” Dessai said.He demanded an immediate halt to all construction work and called for criminal and environmental action against those responsible. “The sewage plant must be relocated to a non-ecologically sensitive area to protect the Zuari River and the people of Curchorem.” Terming it as “unsustainable development”, another resident, Sushant Vasta, said, “All the vegetation, water bodies, marine life, and fishing activities will be destroyed if the STP is allowed to come up here,” he said. Acknowledging the significant investment already made in the sewerage project, Vasta insisted that “we now only demand that the STP be relocated to an alternative place”. “Let alone violating environmental laws, even the sanctity of the place stands to be violated and religious sentiments disregarded, as Ganapati visarjan takes place only a few metres away from the STP site,” James Fernandes said.Balkrishna Hodarkar, a councillor of Curchorem Cacora Municipal Council, who attended the inspection, raised concerns about flooding risks. “The flow of the river has been restricted and this will lead to flooding of the houses in the vicinity. The STP needs to be relocated at the earliest,” he said.
