Team Goemkarponn
CHICALIM: Amid 149 reported cases of diarrhoea at Prabhu Violetta Phase-I in Chicalim, detailed directions issued by the Goa State Pollution Control Board have revealed that the establishment had been earlier directed to halt sewage violations even before laboratory findings confirmed excess pollution levels in its treatment systems.
According to official directions dated 20/03/2026, based on an inspection conducted on 16/03/2026, the Board had observed that untreated sewage was being discharged into the open from the premises of M/s Prabhu Violetta Phase-I at Alto-Dabolim, causing environmental pollution in the surrounding area. In response, the establishment was directed to immediately stop the discharge of untreated sewage into open drains and surrounding spaces.
The Board further directed that sewage generated at the premises be collected in designated tanks and transported on a daily basis through night soil tankers to the sewage treatment plant of the Public Works Department, Government of Goa. This arrangement was mandated to continue until both in-house sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 135 KLD and 85 KLD capacity were rectified, made fully functional and operational under the Board’s supervision, and until the establishment obtained a valid Consent to Operate under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
In the same set of directions, the Board issued a show cause notice to the establishment, asking it to respond within seven days as to why environmental compensation amounting to Rs 44.50 lakh and Rs 12.50 lakh should not be imposed. The notice specifically cited non-compliance with earlier directions bearing reference dated 25/03/2025, failure to obtain valid Consent to Operate under the Water Act, and operating the sewage treatment plants in a manner causing environmental pollution in the vicinity due to discharge of untreated sewage into the open.
Subsequently, reports of analysis of treated effluent samples from the two STPs, submitted on 20/03/2026, indicated that multiple parameters incluidng Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), ammoniacal nitrogen, total suspended solids, total nitrogen and fecal coliform were exceeding permissible limits
The Board also recorded that the analysis reports clearly indicated that the sewage treatment plants at the establishment were not being operated in an efficient manner, and that the discharge of effluent from the same was causing environmental pollution in the surrounding area.
In light of these findings, the directions were issued under Section 33(A) read with Sections 25/26 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, invoking the Board’s powers to enforce compliance and prevent further pollution.
The establishment has been directed to ensure immediate compliance with the Board’s instructions and to submit a compliance report within 48 hours. The Board has further warned that failure to comply with the directions would result in stringent legal action under the provisions of the Act without any further notice.
The sequence of inspection findings, prior directives, and subsequent laboratory results has assumed significance in the backdrop of the diarrhoea cases reported from the residential complex, placing the matter under serious public health and regulatory scrutiny.
