Pollution control board had imposed fines of Rs 12.50 lakh for five violations
Panaji: A diarrhoea outbreak affecting over 156 residents at the Prabhu Violetta residential complex in Dabolim has brought urgency to a pending 2025 pollution case before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in which M/s Prabhu Realtors has challenged a March 25, 2025 Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) order imposing an environmental damage compensation of Rs 12.5 lakh for five violations.
The violations included operating without a valid Consent to Operate, discharge of STP overflow into stormwater drains, failure to maintain two STPs, inadequate garden area for treated water utilisation, and non-compliance with consent conditions. The order had also directed the departments of Electricity and Public Works to disconnect power and water supply to all flats and rejected the appellant’s application for renewal of Consent to Operate.
Following the diarrhoea outbreak, South Goa Collector Egna Cleetus said an inspection carried out by the GSPCB on March 16 revealed serious lapses in the functioning of the sewage treatment plants (STPs), including discharge of untreated sewage.
An FIR has also been registered against Prabhu Realtors associate Amit Prabhu in connection with the diarrhoea cases alleging that untreated sewage from the STP was deliberately and continuously discharged into open drains and the society’s garden area.
In this context, NGT’s Western Zone Bench at Pune on March 20 granted the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Chicalim panchayat a final two-week extension to submit their responses in the pending appeal. The Bench said the extension is a “last opportunity” to avoid further procedural delay.
The appeal was filed by M/s Prabhu’s Violetta Phase-I through its authorised representative, M/s Prabhu Realtors, on May 20, 2025, challenging the GSPCB order.
When the matter was first heard on August 18, 2025, the appellant said that no show-cause notice was issued prior to the penalty.
At the September 2 hearing, the appellant denied the violations. On the Consent to Operate, the appellant said that a renewal application had been submitted on December 12, 2023, and that the GSPCB. On the discharge allegation, the appellant said that treated water was used for landscaping within the complex and supplied to the Chicalim panchayat through a private agency. On maintenance, the appellant said that both STPs were operated scientifically.
The Bench noted that the responses were not supported by documentary evidence and said the GSPCB ought to have provided a hearing in the absence of a show-cause notice. Notices were issued to the respondents.
At the November 12, 2025 hearing, the GSPCB was absent and the appellant had not filed a service affidavit. The NGT directed the appellant to file the affidavit and issued fresh notice to the Board, while granting the panchayat time to file its reply. At the latest hearing on March 20, both respondents sought additional time to file replies. The Bench granted two weeks and posted the matter to June 8, 2026.
Inspections by the GSPCB following the outbreak recorded lapses in STP functioning.
