Goa is lagging behind in urban sanitation due to extremely poor sewerage network and related systems.
The lack of sewerage system has allegedly led to non-treated sewage being discharged into the water bodies causing serious health hazards and environmental problems.
The State government’s proposal to cover all the major towns with sewerage networks using appropriate technology has been moving at a snail’s pace as many of the projects and sewerage schemes for which the work order was issued a decade back has remained unfinished till date reportedly due to “practical difficulties”.
Since Goa, with just 16 per cent sewerage coverage, reels below the National Average (28 per cent), the State government in July 2022 had announced to spend a whopping Rs 4,738 crore, over a period of 10 years, to streamline the sewage network covering
the city, major towns and coastal belt. The estimated year for completion of the project is 2031.
In a document released at that time, the Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Limited (SIDCGL) had stated that it will pump out Rs 3078.59 crore to implement the sewerage scheme across 14 locations.
The Corporation had also proposed to lay sewer networks for low-lying areas and those which are yet to be covered by incurring an expenditure of Rs 1,660 crore.
“It is proposed to cover all the major towns with sewerage networks using appropriate technology, to achieve the goal of total sanitation and clean environment in urban as well as rural areas,” the Corporation had said.
“Health hazards such as contamination of groundwater or drinking water are observed due to the lack of adequate soaking capacity of the soil in areas with a high ground water table and low lying areas, letting off the wastewater in open drains are growing due to urbanisation. Hence laying of network lines is important,” it had added further.
In July 2022, the government had claimed only three towns - Panjim, Margao (part) and Vasco have proper sewerage networks while the works were in progress in North Goa coastal belt, Mapusa, Porvorim, Ponda, and Navelim. Even nearly after one year the sewerage network area has not improved significantly.
SIDCGL officers have said that it has not undertaken any major newer works, as the Minister of Public Works Department, Nilesh Cabral has emphasised on completing the pending works.
“Thousands of crores were spent by the government and various works were launched in different areas of Navelim, Colva, Taleigao Porvorim, Calangute, Mapusa however it remained pending and unfinished due to practical problems on the ground,” an official of Public Works Department said.
“Hence the PWD Minister decided not to undertake any new major works and efforts are on to complete the works that have remained pending for years. Most of the sewerage scheme has been shown as complete on paper, however the ground reality was different,” the official said.
Issues faced to acquire land, opposition by local panchayats, inter-department issues etc are the reasons for which some of the works have remained incomplete for over a decade, he added.
In Calangute, a pumping station was constructed but it could not be commissioned just because the laying of a 30-metre pipeline was incomplete.
In some areas, the Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP), pumping station and main sewer pipeline has been laid but it has not been commissioned as the houses are not connected to the main sewer line. These kinds of minor unfinished works have also contributed to low coverage of the overall sewerage network in the State.
The PWD and the Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa Limited are now claiming that most of the incomplete works will be completed by the end
of 2024.
PWD Minister, Nilesh Cabral said that sewerage network related works are pending for years due to different reasons.
“For the last one year, I have taken up these incomplete projects. In my constituency whatever I had started, all works are complete and we are now focusing on other constituencies including Ponda, Calangute, Mapusa, Margao, Navelim and some parts of Panjim. Some of the contractors are facing difficulties, they are taking necessary permissions from departments concerned including district administration,” Cabral said.
“I have completed on year in office. I am happy that I have taken a lot of dead projects ahead, but I am also not happy because I have not completed some of these projects. I am confident that majority of the ongoing works will be completed by May 2024,” the PWD Minister added.
Amar Vazirani, Managing Director, Sewage and Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa Ltd, said that Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are proposed in Curchorem, Undir, Bandora. In Navelim sewerage network is going on and once pumping station is ready it will be connected to Margao STP.
“Two pumping stations are also proposed in Taleigao. We will soon start work on these proposed projects after getting necessary clearances and NOCs and complete it at the earliest,” he said.