PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday directed the Water Resources Department (WRD) to place on record a comprehensive action-taken report by July 6 in the ongoing Public Interest Litigation concerning illegal borewells in Chimbel.
During the hearing, the department informed the Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Hiten S Venegavkar that 27 unauthorised borewells have already been sealed during the enforcement drive.
The matter pertains to allegations of large-scale extraction of groundwater through borewells sunk without mandatory permissions in the Chimbel area.
During the hearing, the WRD apprised the court that action was continuing on the ground and that 27 illegal borewells had been sealed so far pursuant to the directions issued by the court.
The crackdown gained momentum after the High Court, at an earlier hearing, directed the Executive Engineer (North), Division-I, to act on the department's findings and seal all borewells identified as illegal, including around 70 borewells detected during inspections in the area.
Officials had earlier stated that the exercise was being carried out in phases after field verification, as some borewells identified during the initial survey were found to have already been shut by their owners.
The court had also anticipated possible resistance to the enforcement drive and directed the secretary of the Chimbel panchayat to assist WRD officials during the sealing process. The Police Inspector of Old Goa Police Station was instructed to provide adequate police protection whenever required.
