Staff Reporter
Panaji
In a significant move, the state cabinet on Wednesday approved the formation of a dedicated department of drinking water. This decision will lead to the public works department (PWD) focusing solely on roads and buildings, as the government has a plan to transfer all sewerage-related matters to the Sewerage and Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa.
Following a cabinet meeting at Mantralaya, Porvorim, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant briefed mediapersons, confirming the cabinet decision to establish the new department, as previously announced.
He explained that the new department of drinking water will oversee water management across the state.
The Chief Minister said the new department will be led by the chief engineer, and existing engineers from the PWD will be offered the opportunity to move to the new department in their current
positions.
Additionally, the water resources department (WRD) will continue to supply raw water to the new department, which will be responsible for treating the water and distributing it for potable use.
“The WRD and the DDW will work closely to manage water resources efficiently,” Sawant said, adding that the decision is made with a long-term view, and address the state’s water needs for the next 25 years.
The Chief Minister also mentioned that the responsibility for sewerage matters will be shifted from the PWD to the Sewerage and Infrastructure Development Corporation, which will now come under the finance department.
“The government will allocate separate budgetary provisions for water supply and sewerage in the upcoming annual budget. With this restructuring, we aim to give full attention to each department independently,” he added.
The cabinet also approved several ex-post facto proposals related to expenditures and contract staff extensions across various departments.
In another key announcement, the Chief Minister revealed that the government plans to offer jobs to the children of freedom fighters within the next six months.
“There are approximately 60-70 applications pending for jobs for the children of freedom fighters. The government has already provided employment to two or three of them,” he noted.
