Sal barrage project faces flak over missing power infra

PANAJI
An emergency proposal to spend nearly Rs 38 crore on a 33 KV power connection for the Sal barrage pumping station – a key component of Goa’s alternate water supply arrangement during the impending closure of the Tillari Irrigation Project canal – has triggered serious questions over whether a critical part of the original Rs 400-crore approx project was left out during planning and tendering.

Internal government correspondence reviewed by The Goan shows that the Water Resources Department (WRD) has sought urgent execution of the electrical connectivity work to prevent a looming drinking water crisis across large parts of North Goa, including Bardez and Pernem talukas and portions of Bicholim.

Officials have warned that failure to commission the alternate raw water supply schemes before Maharashtra shuts the Tillari canal for scheduled works could severely disrupt supply to water treatment plants at Assonora, Porvorim, Chandel, Mopa airport, Tuem and Mayem, affecting nearly 200 MLD of drinking water supply.

“Any delay would not only disrupt water supply but also render substantial expenditure on alternate arrangements infructuous,” the source said.

But the urgency has exposed a major omission in the original Sal barrage project itself.

The pumping station at Sal now requires a dedicated 33 KV electrical connection –something officials privately admitted was not envisaged in the sanctioned estimates while the alternate arrangements were being planned.

The proposal now seeks to lay approximately 12.5 km of 33 KV cable from Amthane RMU to the Sal Pumping Station and onward to the nearest Electricity Department connection point.

What has drawn scrutiny, however, is the manner in which the work is proposed to be executed.

Instead of floating a fresh tender or routing the work through the Electricity Department as a deposit work, the WRD has allegedly proposed allotting the electrical work as an “extra item” under an already completed Rs 33-crore civil contract awarded to M/s Bagkiya Construction Pvt Ltd.

“The decision raises significant technical and contractual concerns because high-voltage 33 KV systems ordinarily require statutory electrical approvals, grid synchronisation, protection systems, testing and commissioning by licensed authorities. The 33 KV electrical connectivity was an essential prerequisite for commissioning the barrage-based water supply scheme,” the source further said.

“Since a nearby 33 KV service line already existed, it is necessary to examine why this component was not incorporated in the original DPR, estimate and tender scope itself,” the source added.

Just a year ago, WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar had announced that the 250 MLD water treatment plant at Sal would be commissioned by March 2026, while asserting that North Goa’s recurring water crisis would be fully resolved by December 2026 with multiple water treatment plants coming up across the region.