Shoma Patnaik
Panaji
Aiming to improve the quality of effluent discharge by hospitals, residential complexes and hotels in the state, the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will soon penalise sewage treatment plants (STPs) and effluent treatment plants (ETPs) that fail to comply with discharge standards.
Under the GSPCB’s new guidelines –introduced to bring consistency to enforcement actions – hospitals, housing complexes and hotels will be fined Rs 5,000 the first time their STPs or ETPs deviate from the set standards. Offending establishments will also have to bear the costs incurred by the GSPCB for sample recollection and analysis.
For a second non-compliance offence, the GSPCB plans to impose a steeper penalty of Rs 20,000.
Additionally, the guidelines mandate that all hospitals, residential complexes and hotels install IoT-based, online-monitored STPs within six months. The GSPCB will actively verify whether this equipment performs up to the required standards. Establishments must also implement remedial measures based on the recommendations of the online monitoring data; failure to take corrective action will result in a penalty of Rs 10,000.
To assist with compliance, the GSPCB will soon release a list of empanelled vendors for the installation, operation and maintenance of these systems.
The GSPCB proposes to adopt these guidelines on a case-to-case basis across multi-dwelling housing complexes, hotels, hospitals, public utilities and institutes. The initiative builds on previous measures: in May 2023, the GSPCB made continuous online monitoring compulsory for all effluent-discharging industries, commercial establishments and hotels, and in October 2025, it extended the STP mandate to apartment complexes with 24 or more flats to stop wastewater from contaminating groundwater.
These current guidelines follow the recommendations of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Union Environment Ministry.
