WRD forms committee for assessing groundwater utilisation and renewability

PANAJI: The Water Resources Department (WRD) of Goa formed a state level committee to assess the groundwater utilisation of the state and asked them to submit the report in six months. The committee will have 11 members to estimate the annual quantity of replenishable groundwater resources and also assess its uses.

The committee consists of Secretary, Water Resources as the Chairman and Regional Director, Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) as the member secretary. The committee also consists of WRD chief engineer; PWD chief engineer for sanitation; General Manager, National Bank for Agriculture Rural Development (NABARD), etc. CGWB found out in a study that Goa uses just 34 per cent of its groundwater capacity and continues to remain in the safe zone. There are estimates which show that tourism and growing population can increase this number but the state intends to go by CGWB’s number (60,000 hectare metre per day). 

Many industries in the state are located in narrow plateaus which utilize the groundwater via boreholes. However, a committee headed by the chief engineer meets every month to discuss such exploitation by the industries and to give permission for new construction.