Despite being a most popular tourism destination in the country Goa tops in the plastic waste generation the country cites the Central Pollution Control Board’s Report. The Goa state has submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) that it has imposed a complete ban on the manufacture, sale and use of plastic bags in the state after coming on the top of the list of the most plastic waste generation.
Use of plastic bags and bottles been a huge issue before the tourism department for the long time now with no control over it. Although Government keeps showing in their records that there is a complete ban on the plastic bags but is false propaganda and in reality you will see that everyone right from the small shops to the big supermarkets still make use of plastic bags openly under the shelter of its thickness (microns).
Goa Tourism Development Corporation made announcement on the 20th of July, 2020 that all their hotels situated across the state of Goa will scrap use of all types of plastic stuff like, plastic bottles, Straws and Cups to reduce the plastic waste generation in the state.
The Chairman of GTDC had assured that his department and the GTDC hotels across Goa will stop using the plastic material “This decision will go a long way in contributing towards environment protection and in reducing plastic waste which has become a bane in the State. Growing plastic waste is a major concern and it is important to keep our environment plastic-free,” he told the media.
Despite of many government changes and assurances the plastic menace could not be brought under control by the state government. Investing crores of rupees the recycling plant was setup on the famous Patto locality, aka Nariman Point of Goa (without the seashore) but that became the while elephant and now its almost no operational.
According to the sources, this happened due to the lack to know how in putting the plat to work. This only sums up into the unplanned investments and waste of public money.
Goa also has a full fledged Pollution Control Board but that is also crushed under the political patronage of the big businesses which contribute the major garbage production in the state.
According to Swachh India, in May 2017, the Goa government decided to ban buying and selling of plastic bags below 50 microns (effective July 2017 onwards) to tackle the garbage and litter menace in public places. A fine of Rs. 4,000 was to be imposed on shopkeepers who violate the law.
The former Chief Minister of Goa Late Manohar Parrikar also did his best to stop the excessive use of plastic by setting up a trend of not accepting a gifts or bouquets wrapped in plastic, but that did not change the scenario.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) annual report for 2019-20, Goa generated approximately 26,086.3 tonnes per annum (TPA) of plastic waste during the year.
According to the report published in the ‘Incredible Goa’ Feb edition, the study done by National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) the marine life is found to facing a treat due to plastic dumps which was finally getting accumulated in the seabed.
According to NDTV, the paper ‘Characteristics, seasonal distribution and surface degradation features of microplastic pellets (MPPs) along the Goa Coast’ stated that “The onshore plastic, plastic debris moved in during the monsoon season and ocean-based sources, may lead to a major threat to marine organisms,”
The report published in the local daily Herald Goa, Goa generates whopping 12,000 gram plastic waste per capita per year followed by Delhi (10,000) and Kerala (8,000) thus ranking on the top of the list of plastic garbage generation in the country while the population of the state is of that fraction of many states in India.
If you consider the population of Goa is at 15 Lakh then you can just multiply the figure of 12,000 by 15 Lakh to get the figure of the plastic garbage generation in the state.
Interestingly, the Goa government has submitted to the CPCB that it has imposed a complete ban on the manufacture, sale and use of plastic bags. The State also informed the board that it has amended the Goa Non-biodegradable Garbage Control Act to ban single-use plastic.
Photo by Catherine Sheila
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