📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Vyacheslav Argenberg
Health
Goa Pollution Board files petition in High Court over unsafe faecal coliform levels in Mandovi River
✍️ Hindustan Times
🗓 20 Oct 2026, 02:33 PM
👁 13
The Goa Pollution Control Board has approached the High Court, citing that faecal coliform concentrations in the Mandovi River exceed permissible limits.
The Goa Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has formally petitioned the Goa High Court, alleging that recent water quality tests reveal faecal coliform counts in the Mandovi River well above the limits set under national standards. The board says the elevated bacterial levels pose a serious risk to public health and threaten the river's ecological balance.
According to the GPCB, samples collected from multiple points along the Mandovi over the past month consistently showed coliform concentrations exceeding the permissible threshold of 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres. The board attributes the rise to untreated sewage discharge and runoff from nearby settlements.
In its petition, the GPCB seeks an interim direction for the state government to enforce stricter effluent treatment, initiate immediate clean‑up operations, and monitor compliance through regular testing. The board also requests the court to order a public awareness campaign on the health hazards of contaminated river water.
State officials have not yet responded to the filing, but the High Court is expected to hear arguments within the next two weeks. Environmental groups have welcomed the legal move, urging swift remedial action to safeguard the river that supports tourism, fisheries and local livelihoods.
According to the GPCB, samples collected from multiple points along the Mandovi over the past month consistently showed coliform concentrations exceeding the permissible threshold of 1,000 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres. The board attributes the rise to untreated sewage discharge and runoff from nearby settlements.
In its petition, the GPCB seeks an interim direction for the state government to enforce stricter effluent treatment, initiate immediate clean‑up operations, and monitor compliance through regular testing. The board also requests the court to order a public awareness campaign on the health hazards of contaminated river water.
State officials have not yet responded to the filing, but the High Court is expected to hear arguments within the next two weeks. Environmental groups have welcomed the legal move, urging swift remedial action to safeguard the river that supports tourism, fisheries and local livelihoods.