GSPCB scientists to come out with extensive report The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) will conduct an in-depth study of the pollution-hit Cuncolim Industrial Estate ~ perhaps for the first time since the estate was set up in the early 90s. The report is expected to be finalised in one year, but the Board has asked the team to prepare an interim report on the factual situation vis-a-vis pollution in three months. A project team of two scientists and other scientific staff attached to the Pollution Control Board have been assigned to the Cuncolim Industrial Estate to conduct the study and will cover four areas during the study spanning a year. GSPCB Chairman Jose Manuel Noronha told Herald on Tuesday that the scientific team will provide data for planning pollution control strategies and will ascertain and understand the nature and extent of pollution in the industrial estate as on date. He further said the team will provide data for assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of pollution control measures. It has a clear cut brief to identify hotspots and thrust areas for future course of action, he added. In addition, the study will identify specific existing and emerging water quality problems faced in the industrial estate and in its immediate vicinity. “The Board has taken serious cognisance of the pollution inside the estate. An in-depth study on the actual situation and the ground realties will help us to devise strategies to curb pollution, if not to eliminate it completely,” Noronha said. Replying to a question, he said the Board had in the past initiated a series of steps to stop pollution in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate, but the in-depth study would help in addressing the situation and concerns of the local populace. The Cuncolim Industrial Estate had been in the news over air and water pollution, besides the 25,000 tons of hazardous waste lying inside for the last few years, posing danger to adjoining water bodies.