GSPCB unequipped to check units functioning sans consent to operate

NT NETWORK

PANAJI

Even as the state government claims to have rolled out a slew of measures to arrest pollution levels from polluting industries, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has revealed that it has no mechanism in place to check industrial units operating without its mandatory consent to operate.

The Board, which is a monitoring agency for green, orange, red and white categories of industries, has found itself to be helpless in the absence of enough manpower and coordination with Goa Industries Development Corporation (GIDC), labour department and inspectorate of factories and boilers to check for such violations.

The Board does not have official data on number of units in all categories which have violated consent to establish and started their production activities.

“It is the duty of the GIDC, labour department and inspectorate of factories and boilers to submit data of such unlicensed operators to the Board. Only when we receive such a report or complaints, we can act to stop such malpractices,” a GSPCB official said.

In a recent case wherein two workers died due to a blast in a boiler of a cement-block making factory at Tuem, the unit was

found to be operating illegally without the consent to operate and was also not registered under the Shops and Establishment Act with the labour department. Moreover, the unit and its owner could not be traced, as there was no or little record available with the licensing authority.

This shows that there could be more such units which must have commenced their operation without the mandatory consent to operate, putting the health and lives of workers at risk.

The GSPCB official said every new industrial unit which is granted the consent to establish has to comply with conditions on adequate pollution control measures and the standards prescribed by the GSPCB. However, the GSPCB lacks the systematic approach for cooperation of different agencies, which is especially important in checking violations to take strict action against the violators.

The fundamental challenge before the Board is not how to monitor pollution levels better but how to stop pollution and check violation of its consent in the first place. This can be done with proper coordination and efforts with the allied departments and licensing authority.

Experts say the government’s priority is misplaced. The Board gives its consent to establish to new industries for the purpose of setting up of the unit. The consent is valid for three years and during this period no commissioning of the production activity is allowed but the unit goes unchecked for the next three years for any violations.