In a strong re buke to rampant illegal groundwater extraction, the High Court of Bom bay at Goa on Wednes day directed the Water Resources Department (WRD) to initiate penalty proceedings against the owners and occupants of 43 illegal borewells sealed in Chimbel, exposing what appears to have been a systematic network of concealed wells supplying water to dozens of homes in blatant violation of the law. The direction came af ter the WRD informed the Court that it had com plied with earlier judi cial orders by sealing all 43 illegal borewells that were supplying water to 73 houses in Dharwad kar Colony and Serrao Colony at Chimbel under the provisions of the Goa Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002. The Court, hearing a public interest litigation filed by Chimbel resident Ana Gracias, ordered the Ground Water Officer to impose penalties on those responsible in accordance with the provisions of the Act, signalling that mere ly sealing the borewells would not be the end of the matter.
The affidavit filed by WRD Executive Engineer, Works Di vision-I, Ajay Kudchadker paints a picture of widespread and deliberate attempts to evade detection. According to the department, many of the illegal borewells had been carefully concealed beneath concrete slabs, dummy in spection chambers, tiled courtyards, paved parking spac es, heaps of soil, construction debris and even parked ve hicles, making them virtually impossible to locate through routine visual inspections. To uncover the hidden network, officials were forced to physically inspect individual properties by lifting paving blocks, breaking open inspection chambers and concrete flooring, and excavating soil wherever necessary.
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The WRD told the Court that the colony is densely pop ulated and some occupants initially denied officials access to their premises. The department sought assistance from the Old Goa Police and officials of the Electricity Depart ment, who helped identify borewell starters and discon nect electricity supply wherever required. In a further indication of the scale of the illegal opera tion, officials discovered one concealed borewell in an open area that was not claimed by any individual but was supplying water to around 20 houses. That borewell was among 15 illegal wells sealed during a fresh enforcement drive carried out on July 9 and 10. Another illegal borewell detected during the inspection was sealed in Serrao Colony on July 14, taking the total sealed in the latest phase to 16. The latest crackdown followed two specific directions is sued by the High Court on April 28 and July 6, 2026. Acting on those orders, the WRD first sealed 27 illegal borewells during inspection drives conducted on April 30, May 2, May 22, May 25 and June 5. The subsequent inspections were launched to trace and seal the remaining concealed borewells. The department also informed the Court that, before commencing the exercise, it sought details of residents and house numbers from the Chimbel Village Panchayat.
However, the panchayat replied that no locality known as “Dharwadkar Colony” existed within its jurisdiction, add ing another layer of complexity to the enforcement exer cise. The affidavit also sheds light on why the violations remained undetected for so long. The WRD said it had inspected the area on January 7, 2025, following the pe titioner’s complaint, but was unable to detect the illegal borewells because the houses were locked. A subsequent report dated February 14, 2025, nevertheless confirmed the existence of 10 illegal borewells. Photographs of the sealed wells have now been placed before the Court. The WRD told the High Court that, as of July 14, it had sealed all 43 illegal borewells supplying water to 73 hous es and had not been able to locate any additional unau thorised wells in the area. It has also submitted a detailed sketch of Dharwadkar Colony identifying the properties in spected and marking the locations of all sealed borewells.
