Cap bore wells in Verna Estate: panel

HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, MARCH 10
A committee constituted to survey bore wells by various industrial units in Verna Industrial Estate has unearthed gross illegalities and has recommended immediate capping of all bore wells there for not falling within the purview of the Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002.
That’s not all. The committee has recommended an immediate freeze and moratorium on expansion of the Verna Industrial Estate until the release of the official report of the Water Resources department detailing its findings on ground water table of the area and until the water requirements of various industrial units vis-à-vis the ability of the government to supply the required water is analysed, examined and assured.
The committee has called for a stop on transportation of water through water tankers from the Scheduled area.
Saying that the Water Resources department should be in charge, responsible and accountable for the regulation of ground water and the proper implementation of the Ground Water Regulation Act in the Verna Industrial Estate, the committee has recommended making water harvesting compulsory for all units in the estate.
A recommendation has been made to the PWD to direct the PWD to urgently augment water supply to Verna Industrial Estate as per requirements of the units.
The committee has recommended that all the drilling agencies should obtain permission from the Water Resources department before drilling bore-wells.
The committee constituted by the chief secretary comprises of officials of Water Resources department, Goa IDC, and local villagers Edwin Pinto and John Philip Pereira, representing Voice of Villagers Nagoa/Verna.
The committee has visited around 326 units in the Verna plateau area and has relied on figures supplied by the industrial units themselves vis-à-vis quantity of water drawn from bore-wells for the year as well as their total water requirements.
Analysing the fact and figures, the Committee has said there have been a lack of diligence and application of mind by the authorities when conceptualizing, envisaging and planning the setting up of the Verna Industrial Estate.
The committee noticed that the Ground Water Regulation Act, which came into force in 2002, has not been implemented by the authorities in the Verna Industrial Estate, which has permitted a number of industrial units to uninhibitedly tap the community ground water table to satisfy their requirements even after the notification of the locality as a Scheduled area in November 2007.
In fact, the committee has said that in order to cover up its own inability to supply the required water to industries in the Verna Industrial Estate, the government bodies collaborated to permit industrial units to arbitrarily sink bore-wells and tap the ground water, thus compelling the people of the area to bear the brunt of the consequences.
The committee says that the GIDC still persists in carrying on with its expansion of the Verna Industrial Estate even now, despite the vast discrepancy in water requirements and actual supply.
The Voice of Villagers had pointed out that water springs in and around the Verna Industrial estate have either dried up or drying up,  as a consequence of unregulated and indiscriminate sinking of bore wells.