Panjim: Currently in Goa, 962 borewells have permission from the water resources department (WRD) to operate. The number of borewells in the state is on the rise - of the 962, over 40% or 387 borewells have received approval to operate from 2020 to date. But a growing number of borewells in the state are not authorised. Since 2020, 122 illegal borewells have been found, most at Mormugão, Mandrem, Vasco, Dabolim, and Calangute.

 

Of the 122, 70 have been sealed and a fine of Rs 5,000 each has been imposed on those who installed them. In other cases, show-cause notices have been issued to the violators by the WRD. Since 2020, the state has collected fines of Rs 27.7 lakh for illegal groundwater extraction under the Goa Ground Water Regulation Act, 2002, and Rules, 2003, minister for water resources Subhash Shirodkar has said in a reply tabled in the ongoing assembly session.

 

In one case at Calangute, 21 borewells sunk by a shack owner were sealed after a complainant approached the high court. The Mormugão constituency has the highest number of new borewells, as well as illegal ones. Thirty-six new borewells have come up in the constituency in recent years.