Goa pollution board tells police to probe consent to operate scam

Panaji: The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has written to the Goa police to investigate multiple complaints it received from businesses about fake consent to operate being issued by fraudsters posing as the board’s officials.

The individuals, posing as GSPCB officials, also took payment from the business owners.The board wrote to the police stating that the first case occurred in Oct 2024, and despite reporting it to the police, the accused is yet to be apprehended.“After verification of the board records, it is seen that the consent order and the offline payment receipt were not issued by the office of the GSPCB. The board has not been intimated regarding any action initiated by the police to date with regards to the investigation of the matters or apprehension of the accused.

As such, you are again requested to ensure that the complaints are investigated and immediate action is taken to apprehend the accused,” Sanjeev Joglekar, member secretary of GSPCB, said in the letter.In the most recent case reported last month, the board said that it found the consent to operate submitted by the owner of the Durgadevi Fast Food Corner in Quepem had not been issued by the GSPCB. The owner submitted proof of having paid Rs 22,000 to the accused.

“During inspection of the unit, it was informed by the fast food operator that one person had contacted him stating he was calling from GSPCB and his application was pending and marked to him for processing. He further informed him to pay the fees and shared his account number. The fast food operator thereafter paid him the fees for the consent application of approximately Rs 22,000. Thereafter, a person named Sidhant Gaonkar sent the unit owner the fake consent copy,” Joglekar told the police in his letter.Similar cases were also reported in Canacona, Azossim, and Calangute, he said.“The board is also in receipt of a complaint from Maria Mukhtar Shaikh, a resident of Naikavaddo, Calangute, informing that she is the operator of an establishment in Calangute and that Siddharth Goankar/Suraj Vivek Pendse, claiming to be an officer of the board, had called her to inform her that he was going to seal the restaurant unless she immediately provided certain documents and the necessary fees for obtaining consent to operate of the board,” Joglekar said.