Team Herald
PORVORIM: Announcing that government is in the process of augmenting the water supply with additional 157MLD to the existing capacity, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday hinted at a possible hike in tariff of drinking water in the near future.
Parrikar, who was replying to the Questions on Public Works Department (PWD) in absence of ailing Minister Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar, also said that 30-40-year-old AC water pipeline in the State will be replaced with a new pipeline that has double the diameter.
Responding to the series of questions from the Opposition benches on the steps government has initiated to ensure 24×7 water supply and maintenance of infrastructure, the Chief Minister said the government has appointed a consultant for mapping of water supply infrastructure with the objective of providing 24×7 water to the people.
He said that 157MLD of water augmentation is in process, which includes 27MLD water treatment plant at Opa, 25 MLD plant at Ganjem, 10 MLD plant at Maisal, 30MLD plant at Tuvem, 15 MLD plant each at Guirim and Porvorim, etc. “Apart from this, the works under JICA would be completed by 2019. Eighty-five per cent work is already completed,” Parrikar said.
The Chief Minister informed the House that the State has been hugely subsidising the water supply provided to the consumers. “The water which is provided to the consumers is at much subsidised rate. We get only Rs 150 crore from the consumers annually while the actual expenditure is Rs 800-900 crore,” Parrikar said.
“Except for the first few initial units, we should be ready to pay more for the water. We should be ready to pay more for it after providing some water up to certain units at the cheaper rate,” he stated.
The Question on water supply was raised by Congress MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues, who sought to know the steps initiated by government to ensure there is adequate water supply. He also requested the Government to undertake necessary mapping of all the existing infrastructure and the required infrastructure.
“As of now, Goa has adequate water for consumption. What we need is to control the leakages. The State has appointed a consultant to map the existing water supply and problems related to it whose report would be considered for brining in the necessary changes. We are also in process of replacing all the old water pipelines, whose life span has been exhausted,” Parrikar said.
Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco stated that there is water shortage in several parts of the State and that government has failed to control the leakages.
However, Chief Minister ruled out that there was water shortage across Goa. “It is not the case that we don’t have water. The people living at tail end or those located at elevated places face this problem,” he said.
