NITI Aayog and various agencies have warned that India will face an acute drinking water crisis by 2030, worsening further by 2050. While India has only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources, it supports 17% of the global population. The warning signs of this crisis are already visible in Goa. In 2024 and early 2025, at least 10 to 12 major instances of village-wide and taluka-wide water shortages have been recorded.
Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar has assured that Goa will no longer face water shortages after December 2025, but man-made disruptions continue to add to the woes of an already water-stressed population. Shirodkar’s 2025 deadline is, in itself, an acknowledgment of the existing crisis. Even after achieving 100% saturation under the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme, many parts of the state continue to suffer.
For instance, residents of Porvorim were grappling with severe water shortages even as this report was being written on Saturday.
As Goa witnesses exponential growth in residential construction and an ever-expanding tourism sector, fears are mounting that local residents may soon struggle to access their fair share of potable water.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY...
Arvin Mesquita from Colva said that water shortage is a real problem for Colva, and it’s only going to get worse with so many approvals given for constructions, swimming pools, etc., without any infrastructure or carrying capacity checks by a totally unconcerned Colva Panchayat and the Town and Country Planning Department.
“If we can’t manage the current state of development, how is Colva going to manage even further mega development?” said Mesquita while speaking about the proposal to change Colva to CRZ-2 status.
Resident of Nanoda, Sada Gawalkar, said that after their protests, water from a well was pumped out and is being supplied to houses. However, the water they are receiving for hardly two hours a day is not potable.
Sanjeev Naik, while highlighting the water scarcity issue and the government’s move to start the academic year, said that summer temperatures are very high, and water shortage is a major problem during April and May.
Sanjay Pereira from Cacra village, which recently protested regarding a decades-old water shortage problem, said that after several protests, the PWD water supply has started work on a new pipeline. “We have been facing a water shortage for decades, but now it is supposed to be resolved,” he said.
Porvorim resident Sigmund D’Souza said that despite waiting for over a month, there was not a drop of water in his locality near Copperleaf restaurant. “This government has forgotten the residents of Porvorim. I hear that our very dynamic and powerful MLA supplies sponsored water tankers daily to all the slums which are illegally built on our Serula Comunidade land, while we law-abiding, tax-paying residents, Gaunkars, and sons of the soil are kept high and dry for over a month now,” he said.
During a visit to the Water Resource Department (WRD), Sigmund was informed that the department did not start work on the water pipeline as the flyover construction was still underway. He has been regularly paying ₹1,000 for a tanker of 7,000 litres of water. He says there were times when he had to beg the water tanker operator from a neighbouring village.
It may be recalled that WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar, in mid-December, had said that Goa wouldn’t face a water shortage by December 2025. “We can provide 400 MLD of potable water to the people of Goa by December 2025. One hundred bandharas will be an additional source of water,” he said.
On the second day of the two-day Assembly session, while speaking on a calling attention motion tabled by Bicholim MLA Dr. Chandrakant Shetye, several MLAs complained of water shortages in various rural areas. Dr. Shetye informed that Nanoda, Vadaval, Sal, Lamgao, Bordem, and Sharada Colony have been facing water shortages.
Mayem MLA Premendra Shet said that Narve and Chodan have been facing water scarcity regularly.
MLA Delilah Lobo informed that a water treatment plant has been proposed, but the work has not yet begun. She also requested additional staff for the Water Supply Department, as many employees have retired and their vacancies have not been filled. The issue of a shortage of water supply in the St. Andre constituency was also mentioned in the Assembly.
Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao, while speaking on the water shortage, said that this is a water crisis, a water famine. “We cannot give water to people after making an announcement of Har Ghar Jal and claiming we are Swayampurna. There have been a lot of flip-flops on the government’s part in providing water to Goans,” he said.
MLA Michael Lobo said that ever since he became an MLA, he has been witnessing this problem. “Work on the water supply that had to be done 25 years ago is being taken up today. There are houses that do not get water at all,” he said.
MLAs have demanded a fresh study on the water requirements in each constituency.
Two months after the statement by WRD Minister Shirodkar, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, while speaking on a calling attention motion, said that the government will attempt to fulfil a minimum of four hours of water supply to all households. The Chief Minister agreed that it is not possible to supply water 24x7, but his government will ensure at least four hours of daily water supply.
The Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) report, released some years ago by NITI Aayog, placed Goa at the lowest level in managing water resources, irrigation, potable drinking water, and groundwater. With the exponential growth in Goa’s tourism and second homes, fears are being expressed about whether Goa will become part of India’s list of 21 cities that will have no access to drinking water by 2030.
Opposition Leader Alemao asked, “This brings us to the question of whether Goa has the carrying capacity to accommodate so many residences. We are moving from bad to worse.”
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo asked, “Will the government provide water connections to the three to four thousand houses and flats that are coming up in Bardez?”
The Chief Minister stated that while there is a shortage of water in April and May, no new NOCs are issued. However, the government faces an uphill task in securing more water for the State and improving distribution before the crisis spirals out of control.