Orders internal inquiry into functioning of system
Panaji : The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has ordered an internal inquiry into the functioning of its Real Time Online Noise Monitoring Systems (RTONMS) after admitting that the devices installed at restaurants, bars and beach clubs cannot identify the source of noise or pinpoint individual violators.
The decision was taken at the recently held board meeting after technical evaluations and representations from establishments that had questioned the basis on which environmental compensation, showcause notices and closure directions were issued. The GSPCB’s law officer has been directed to head the inquiry into why these monitoring stations were purchased without ensuring they possessed sound classification mechanisms.
A critical component of this probe will be to determine why exceedances were attributed solely to individual establishments despite the system’s known inability to isolate noise sources. The inquiry will also examine inspection reports and approvals relating to the installation of the devices.
The board observed that the online monitoring stations record cumulative ambient noise levels and are incapable of distinguishing whether the sound originates from amplified music played by an establishment or from external sources such as sea waves, vehicular traffic, construction activity or neighbouring venues.
“The data recorded by the existing online monitoring stations cannot conclusively prove that the exceeding noise levels are due to operation of the establishments at which these stations are installed and not from ancillary sources including commercial establishments, traffic and construction activity.
“It would be imprudent or untenable to attribute exceedances of noise levels recorded by the said system exclusively to the operation of the said establishments,” the board noted while deciding to revoke earlier closure or suspension of operations directions issued to 28 establishments.
Consequently, the board observed that further coercive action cannot be initiated solely on the basis of RTONMS data and directed its scientific section’s noise monitoring cell to immediately form a team of its staff to monitor the noise levels at the establishments through physical verification, to verify the source of noise whenever exceedances are recorded.
The finding was corroborated by vendors supplying the monitoring systems. M/s Nevco Engineers Pvt Ltd informed the board that the stations measure cumulative environmental noise and “do not have the capability to identify, classify or segregate individual noise sources.”
Another vendor, M/s Urban Axis Environment and Assets LLP, stated that the systems capture all surrounding sounds but cannot differentiate between them.
M/s Welan Technologies, while proposing an AI-based sound classification software, admitted that the existing systems cannot identify the source of exceedances.
The GSPCB noted that the AI solution would require separate installation and validation by the Central Pollution Control Board.
“The only way to confirm the source of the sound is to depute the staff at the site,” the board reckoned, acknowledging that the existing monitoring systems cannot reliably identify violators and that Goa’s noise regulation framework may need a substantial overhaul.
