Panaji: The Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (Goa-SEIAA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 31.2 lakh on a residential-cum-commercial project at Odxel in Taleigao for environmental violations.The project proponents had applied for environmental clearance in March 2023 before the Goa State Expert Appraisal Committee (Goa-SEAC). However, the committee did not recommend the proposal after finding that project activities were being carried out without valid environmental clearance.The committee observed that the project’s earlier environmental clearance had expired in 2013 and was not renewed, despite construction activities continuing at the site.Following Union environment ministry guidelines issued in July 2021, Goa-SEIAA decided to levy a penalty linked to the project cost and turnover during the violation period.In Dec 2023, the authority refused to approve the project’s terms of reference under the violation category as the prescribed penalty had not been paid.The matter was reconsidered in Jan 2026 after the project proponents cited a Jan 20 office memorandum issued by the Union environment ministry allowing the processing of pending and unconcluded cases.Goa-SEIAA subsequently directed the developers to submit details of the built-up area, construction expenditure, and turnover generated during the violation period.According to submissions made before the authority, the total construction cost incurred outside the validity period of the environmental clearance stood at Rs 24.4 crore, while Rs 27 crore had been received from sales attributable to the constructed area as of April 6 this year.Based on these figures, the authority imposed a penalty of Rs 24.4 lakh, equivalent to 1% of the project cost incurred, and an additional Rs 6.7 lakh, equivalent to 0.25% of the turnover during the violation period.“The total penalty payable works out to Rs 31.2 lakh,” Goa-SEIAA said, adding that the pending terms of reference for the project will be issued only after the penalty amount is paid.Panaji: An analysis by the traffic cell of Goa police revealed a 500% rise in driver deaths in road accidents in the first four months of 2026 compared to the corresponding period in 2025. Usually, Goa records more rider deaths in road accidents. Two-wheeler rider deaths also increased by 9% during the period, while pedestrian deaths fell by around 60%.In 2025, only one driver died in a road accident during the Jan-April period, whereas six drivers lost their lives in accidents till April 2026. Similarly, pedestrian deaths declined from 15 in 2025 to six in 2026. A total of 59 riders died in road accidents till April 2026, compared to 54 during the same period in 2025.Till April-end, 851 accidents were reported in the state against 797 cases during the corresponding period last year, an increase of 54 cases. Fatal accidents also rose marginally to 85, one more than the previous year.In April 2026 alone, 23 fatal accidents were reported, slightly lower than the 24 recorded in the same month last year.A fatal road accident refers to a road traffic accident resulting in death, while road deaths refer to the number of fatalities arising from such accidents.The increase in fatal road accidents has been attributed to higher traffic movement during the tourist season. It has also been linked to govt’s decision to reduce enforcement by withdrawing police personnel tasked with issuing challans for traffic violations.Even as Goa police set a target to reduce road fatalities by 20% in 2025, they managed to bring down fatal accidents and deaths by over 5% compared to 2024.According to traffic cell data, 257 fatal accidents were reported in 2025, down from 271 in 2024. Similarly, 269 people died in road accidents in 2025 compared to 287 in the previous year.The traffic cell appealed to two-wheeler riders in Goa to wear helmets, and urged drivers and passengers to use seat belts. People should follow traffic rules and avoid drunk driving, it said.
