PANAJI
In a move to tighten monitoring of sewage treatment systems amid growing concerns over water pollution in the State, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has approved guidelines mandating all sewage treatment plants (STPs) in hotels, hospitals and residential complexes to install online Internet of Things (IoT)-based monitoring systems for equipment within six months.
The decision, approved by the Board during its meeting, aims to bring consistency in action initiated by the GSPCB whenever treated effluent samples collected from STPs and effluent treatment plants (ETPs) are found to be deviating from prescribed standards.
Under the approved guidelines, establishments found violating discharge standards for the first time will have their samples re-tested for confirmation. If the deviation is confirmed, the establishment will be slapped with a penalty of Rs 5,000 and will also have to bear the cost of re-collection and analysis of samples.
For a second violation, the penalty has been fixed at Rs 20,000, and the Board will undertake a performance evaluation of the STP at the cost of the establishment. Additionally, the treated water from the outlet will have to be disposed of at the nearest government sewage treatment plant.
The GSPCB has also decided that once the IoT-based systems are installed, it will verify whether all equipment is functioning as required based on the online data generated. Failure to initiate corrective action despite indications from the IoT data will attract an additional penalty of Rs 10,000.
As part of the enforcement framework, the Board will also empanel vendors for operation and maintenance of STPs, with establishments required to entrust maintenance work only to vendors registered with the GSPCB.
The Board noted that the procedure would be adopted on a case-to-case basis for multi-dwelling units, hotels, hospitals, public utilities and educational institutions and may be supplemented with environmental compensation or environmental penalties wherever necessary.
