the goan I network
PANAJI
The Public Works Department (PWD) is set to supply Cortalim and the surrounding villages with at least 12 hours of water supply in the next two or three years.
When asked by Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha about the time frame for putting in place a water supply system for the villages of Cortalim, Quelossim and Sancoale for uninterrupted water supply for at least 12-15 hours, PWD Minister Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar, in a written reply, said that the same would take around 2 or 3 years.
In his reply to a question tabled by Saldanha on Friday, Dhavalikar explained that presently, the villages of Cortalim, Quelossim and Sancoale are supplied with water from the Master Balance Reservoir (MBR) located at a hillock at Cuelim.
These villages are receiving water for around 5-6 hours a day.
However, efforts were being made to construct a locality-wise service reservoir so that the number of hours could be increased upto 12 hours a day.
The fruits of these efforts would be seen in around 2-3 years.
Furthermore, when asked whether the government had any plans to construct an additional 10,000 cubic meter MBR on government land near the existing 10,000 cubic meter MBR near Meta Strips in Cortalim, Dhavalikar’s reply read, “The government has plans to construct an additional 20,000 cubic meter MBR adjoining the existing 10,000 cubic meter MBR in Cortalim constituency.”
The estimate for this 20,000 cubic meter MBR is still under preparation.
Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco sought to know through a question tabled on Friday, whether the assurance for availability of round the clock drinking water had been initiated for execution, to which Dhavalikar replied that major infrastructure projects were proposed within 2-3 years.
“On completion of these projects it will be possible to supply water 24x7,” read Dhavalikar’s reply.
Mandrem MLA Dayanand Sopte sought to know the criteria adopted by the government households consuming water below the said minimum units fixed.
Dhavalikar’s reply read, “The minimum units of water usage is fixed based on 100 litres per capita per day for a 30 day period for domestic consumers.”
However, utitilising less water than minimum units didn’t mean a consumer was paying less.
All consumers, even those utilising less water than the minimum set by the government, were billed for minimum units as per the Notification in force.
The government was not charging rent on water meters owned by the customers, according to Dhavalikar’s
reply.
