THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
The Water Resources Department (WRD) has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the command area plan of the Anjunem Irrigation Project is still at the draft stage, with the statutory Development Scheme yet to be finalised and notified.
The submission came in a plea challenging the inclusion of portions of Survey Nos. 113/3 and 114/3 at Karapur, Bicholim, in the draft command area plan, amid a dispute before the NGT over construction and development in the vicinity of the irrigation project.
In an affidavit filed before the Tribunal, Executive Engineer, Works Division-V, Anil Parulekar, said the Command Area Development Board for the Anjunem Irrigation Project was constituted under the Goa Command Area Development Act, 1997. He said the process of identification, surveying, demarcation and finalisation of the command area, along with preparation of the Development Scheme, was presently underway.
The WRD said the exercise involved technical surveys, verification of field data, preparation of plans and coordination with concerned departments. While portions of the two survey numbers are reflected in the draft plan, the department clarified that the plan remains subject to modifications until completion of the statutory process.
“The Development Scheme has not yet been finalised or notified under Section 18 of the Goa Command Area Development Act, 1997,” the affidavit stated.
The department further clarified the scope of a No-Objection Certificate issued in October 2022 for construction of a retaining/protection wall along a nullah near the subject properties. It said the NOC was strictly confined to the retaining wall and could not be construed as approval for any construction or development activity within a wetland or water body.
The WRD also maintained that it had neither sanctioned nor participated in any construction or encroachment activity on the subject properties.
The affidavit has been filed in proceedings concerning the properties and various allegations relating to construction, wetlands and permissions issued by different authorities.
