State's rivers and beaches reeling from untreated sewage and weak enforcement, says opposition
Congress MLAs drew the attention of govt to pollution of the state's water bodies while participating in discussion on demand for grants for environment, on the last day of the monsoon session of the legislative assembly, on Friday.
Opposition leader Yuri Alemao and Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira highlighted that casinos, hotels and others dump sewage and other waste into the rivers.
Ferreira said there are no checks on disposal of waste by casinos, and cited a CSIR-NIO report to point out severe pollution of the Mandovi river. The contamination, he said, was caused by homes, restaurants, and casinos releasing untreated sewage. Biodiversity has also been hit in the river, he stated and added that cholera and typhoid are being reported along its banks.
Alemao said that time and again, they have highlighted how the Colva creek is being polluted due to release of waste and sewage into it, but no action has been taken by govt.
'Govt needs to wake up and do something about this quickly,' Ferreira said.
Alemao further said that the Goa State Pollution Control Board's (GSPCB) 2024-25 report stated that Goa's beaches and tourist hotspots, including Miramar, Morjim and Arambol, recorded faecal coliform levels between 500 and 1,100mpm per 100mpm, far exceeding the Central Pollution Control Board's safety threshold of 100mpm.
Alemao said another report indicated high organic pollution from untreated sewage and human waste, stating that 11 out of 20 beaches monitored were found unsafe for recreational use.
Additionally, the contamination of rivers and wetlands — the Mandovi, Zuari, Sal, Mapusa, Cumbharjua, and Ashvem — by chemical contamination and illegal effluent discharge from industrial and hospitality units was noted. The GSPCB, in its 2024-25 report, flagged rivers as unfit for even fishing or recreational use due to unregulated discharge from commercial establishments and industries, poorly treated sewage from urban settlement encroachment and debris choking them.
Another study by the WRD pointed out that 67 of 112 lakes, ponds and temple tanks in Goa were polluted, including ecologically significant ones like the Nanda, Bondvoll, and Carambolim lakes, he said.
Despite the STP set up at Colva, untreated water continues to flow into the world-famous Colva Beach, Alemao said. Similarly, sewage from the Sal has been ending up in the Arabian Sea and needs to be stopped, he added.
Despite the existence of CZMP 2011 and CRZ 2011, Goa's enforcement remains weak, Alemao said, with violations rampantly reported across Goa's beaches, rivers, and eco-sensitive areas. Fifty per cent of India's CRZ violations — 974 out of 1,878 — come from Goa, he said.
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