Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the Water Resources Department (WRD) to place on record a comprehensive action-taken report by July 6 in the ongoing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning illegal borewells in Chimbel.
The direction was issued by a Division Bench comprising Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Hiten S. Venegavkar during a hearing on Wednesday.
During the proceedings, the WRD informed the court that enforcement action was underway and that 27 unauthorised borewells had already been sealed as part of the drive against illegal groundwater extraction in the area.
The PIL pertains to allegations of large-scale groundwater extraction through borewells allegedly dug without obtaining the mandatory permissions. The department told the court that action on the ground was continuing in compliance with earlier directions issued by the High Court.
The crackdown gathered pace after the court, during a previous hearing, instructed the Executive Engineer (North), Division-I, to proceed with sealing all borewells identified as illegal. Inspections carried out by the department had reportedly revealed around 70 such borewells in Chimbel.
According to officials, the exercise is being conducted in phases following field verification. During the verification process, some of the borewells initially identified as illegal were found to have already been shut down by their owners.
Anticipating possible resistance during the enforcement drive, the High Court had earlier directed the secretary of the Chimbel Panchayat to extend all necessary assistance to WRD officials. The court had also instructed the Police Inspector of Old Goa Police Station to provide adequate police protection whenever required.
The matter is expected to come up for further hearing after the WRD submits its detailed report on the action taken against illegal borewells in the locality.
