There has been slight progress on the clearing up of contaminated water around the Cuncolim Industrial Estate. The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has decided to opt for a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) as a permanent solution for the Industrial Estate.
Mumbai-based Aditya Environmental Services has been appointed as the agency to prepare a detailed project report prior to the construction of the treatment plant.
The agency has been given a time-frame of three months for completing the report. The consultancy firm will be assessing the sewage load from various units in the industrial estate, water consumption pattern of units, type of waste matter generated, among other parameters.
Work is on in full swing as Aditya Environmental Services has begun collecting data from the Goa State Pollution Control Board. Based on the inputs gathered, the company will suggest the design for the CETP (Common Effluent Treatment Plant).
The estimated cost of this plant is Rs. 30 crore, which will be funded by the Central Government, the stakeholder industries from the industrial estate, the State Government and from central subsidy.
President of Cuncolim Industries Owners Association Abhay Keni said that a common effluent treatment plant is urgently needed at the estate as it has several polluting units. He said, “The fishmeal and fish processing units in the estate discharge around 10 lakh litres of effluents daily.”
Notorious for pollution, the Cuncolim Industrial Estate Units contaminate water bodies, groundwater and also lead to air pollution. Some units presently have fully functional Waste Treatment Plants whereas others have ones that do not function properly. A CETP will collect effluents from all units and treat them safely, thus rendering the Industrial discharge non-hazardous and safe to be let out into the environment.
