NT Reporter
Panaji
Goa’s water infrastructure vulnerabilities were brought to the fore in the assembly on Thursday with Fatorda GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai slamming the WRD for
its pending and stalled
projects.
He said 119 works worth Rs 168.01 crore are pending as they are awaiting expenditure sanction, while 89 projects have stalled due to lack of funds. “Another 114 flood control projects costing Rs 168 crore have been pending for five years,” he said, adding that the department’s budget was inadequate to meet its operational
needs.
The Tillari project, once projected as North Goa’s key water lifeline, faced a major disruption due to poor maintenance of a canal bridge on the Maharashtra side. The incident led to a five-day water
cut in Bicholim, Assonora, Pernem, and Bardez, affecting residents and causing crop losses for around
100 farmers.
Sardesai said the backup Amthane dam also failed due to lack of maintenance. “The required three-monthly testing never occurred, resulting in Bardez suffering water crisis when the dam’s level plummeted to just 11% storage capacity in June 2024,” he said. “In January 2025, this dam got rusted, which the WRD was aware of.”
The Salaulim dam at Paddiem suffered a breach in December 2024. Furthermore 23% of this dam’s live storage is lost to siltation, Sardesai said, adding upstream mining activities were contributing to sedimentation. He urged the government to take preventive measures.
St Andre RGP MLA Viresh Borkar cited a Ministry of Jal Shakti report predicting a water deficit of 765 million cubic metres by 2051. He proposed an inter-departmental committee to evaluate demand and block projects threatening water security.
Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao and Quepem Congress MLA Altone D’Costa flagged the situation in Paroda, where land subsidence and water scarcity have hampered farming. They called for scientific assessments and timely interventions.
Benaulim AAP MLA Venzy Viegas reiterated the need for state and village-level water security plans. “This is the third year I am asking for village carrying capacity assessments for water planning,” he said.
Curtorim Independent MLA Reginaldo Aleixo Lourenco said agricultural areas needed dedicated irrigation efforts. He suggested the formation of a WRD cell exclusively focused on securing safe raw and filtered water across the state.
