Villagers allege severe water shortages
PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Water Resources Department (WRD) to conduct an inquiry and submit a report regarding allegations of illegal water pumping by MRF Company from the Mhadei River in Usgao.
The order comes in response to the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Rohan Naik, in which villagers have complained about the company’s alleged illegal activities. They claimed that illegal water pumping has caused severe water shortages, forcing them to sell their cattle and face agricultural losses.
The High Court was also informed that such water extraction from the river is illegal without a No Objection Certificate from the concerned authorities. “As a consequence of such illegalities, the locals suffer from water scarcity. The wells have dried up, agricultural activities have been stopped, and the villagers are forced to sell their cattle as a result of the shortage of water,” the PIL states.
The villagers further alleged that the WRD had not granted permission for the company’s water pumping operations at Usgao. They have demanded an immediate halt to these illegal activities, disconnection of water pumps from the river, and immediate filing of an FIR against the MRF Company.
To this, the Division Bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita Mehta directed the WRD and/or the Public Works Department to file an affidavit detailing the action taken based on the complaints, which is essentially addressed to the Collector Office, South Goa.
“WRD, upon an inquiry, is to place the report before this Court within a period of four weeks on the allegations made in the complaint. It is open for the concerned WRD to record the statements of the villagers to facilitate the inquiry,” the Court further directed.
The respondent company, however, denied the allegations, claiming these are without any substance and that they are acting in consonance with the permissions received in regard to such drawing. The Bench asked the respondents to place on record permission granted for the drawing of water from the river, the quantity permitted, etc., by the next date.
The matter has been adjourned to March 3.
