Panaji: Former Panaji mayor Surendra Furtado has questioned govt’s decision to conduct a rapid environmental impact assessment (EIA) instead of a comprehensive study for the redevelopment and extension of the L-shaped jetty opposite the old secretariat on the Mandovi.Citing an RTI reply in which the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) said it holds “no information” on the project, Furtado called for a full public consultation before the project is cleared.He said he filed the RTI application with the GSPCB on July 6, seeking details of the jetty proposal, approvals, and the EIA process, after earlier flagging what he called the “fast-tracking” of environmental clearance for the project. On July 16, the board said as per records no information is available.The former mayor linked the reply to a peer-reviewed study by CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography scientists, published in Estuaries and Coasts on July 23, 2025, which identified Panaji’s casino hub as “the most persistent estuarine pollution hotspot” in the Mandovi-Zuari estuary.The study had recorded total coliform levels of 16,000 MPN/100ml at casino point, which is 32 times the CPCB limit of 500 MPN/100ml, alongside critically low oxygen levels and microbial contamination.Furtado said pushing a jetty project through rapid EIA on an “already stressed and polluted river” ran counter to scientific evidence and public interest. He said he demands a comprehensive study before the project affecting the Mandovi is allowed to go ahead.
