Venzy files complaint against Cabral over sewage in Sal

MARGAO: Four days after he squared off with environment minister Nilesh Cabral over the discharge of raw water into the Sal river, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Margao town police against member secretary of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, and chairman and managing director of Goa Sewerage and Industrial Development Corporation. While no official has been named in the complaint, Cabral, incidentally, is the chairman of the sewerage corporation.
Viegas has charged the officials with negligence in taking steps to plug the “intentional discharge” of raw sewage into the Sal. Stating that “intentional discharge of raw sewage into a water body due to negligence is a criminal offence,” under Section 277 of the Indian Penal Code and also constitutes violation of fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, Viegas has urged the police to file an FIR against the “subject officials and all other offenders/culprits under the applicable laws”.
The Benaulim MLA has attached photographic and video evidence of the recent incident of discharge of raw sewage “from the pipeline of the sewerage treatment plant (STP) at Sirvodem, Navelim, using the emergency overfill discharge line which has an outlet to the nullah adjacent to the STP and leading to the Sal river.”
Viegas has also pointed to an inspection held in June 2021, wherein six locations were identified where raw sewage was being discharged through broken sewerage chambers, STPs, etc. He has said that till date, sewage was still being let into the Sal through these locations.