Goa govt absorbed expenditure of Rs 65cr under zero water bill scheme

Porvorim: During the period for which the PWD implemented the Zero Water Bill Scheme, from Sep 1, 2021, to April 30, 2025, it issued 41.9 lakh zero bills to domestic consumers.

The total bill amount of Rs 65.5 crore was waived under the scheme, stated the reply tabled in the assembly by chief minister Pramod Sawant to a question by Velim MLA Cruz Silva.

Goa govt officially ended its zero-bill scheme on May 1. The scheme allowed the drinking water bill to be waived for families who limited their usage to less than 16,000 litres of water per month.

The idea behind the scheme was to encourage the judicious use of drinking water resources.

However, the CM said that earlier this year, the scheme of free water to consumers had to be stopped due to the misuse of water to wash cars or sustain gardens.

He said govt is already supplying treated water to consumers by bearing a loss of Rs 16 per litre.

Sawant said that the total water demand for domestic, commercial, and industrial uses is 695MLD — with system losses being factored in.

The CM told the House that the highest demand for water at 146.5MLD is in Salcete taluka, followed by 123MLD in Bardez, and 94MLD in Tiswadi.

He, however, said that no village of Goa faces an acute water shortage. “The complaints regarding water shortages or non-supply of water are of a localised nature due to power failure, leakages, breakdowns, and the blockage of pipelines,” he said.

The CM said these problems are attended to within the shortest possible time. “In such eventualities, tanker supply is resorted to as a short-term measure. However, as a long-term measure, govt is investing in upgrading and modernising water treatment facilities, distribution networks, and storage systems,” he said.

Sawant stated that 11 projects for new water treatment plants or augmentation of the capacity of existing plants are under process.

He said that three plants — at Ganjem, Tuem, and Siolim — will be commissioned in Dec 2025.

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