Goa Water Resources Department Grants NOC for Delta Corp's Resort Water Supply
The Water Resources Department (WRD) in Goa has officially issued its no-objection certificate (NOC) for the allocation of 1.7 million liters per day (MLD) of water from the Tillari irrigation canal. This water is designated for the supply to the integrated resort development project by Delta Corp located in Dhargalim, Pernem.
Government Approval and Strict Conditions Attached
According to the WRD's order, this approval follows a prior government nod for the same allocation. The department has outlined several critical conditions in its directive. The water supplied will be chargeable as per existing government notifications, and the applicant, Delta Corp, is required to bear all costs associated with the construction of the outlet and metering arrangements.
Priority rights are firmly reserved for the department's own requirements, such as irrigation and drinking water supply. Furthermore, the WRD explicitly reserves the authority to either stop or curtail the water supply at any time without prior notice. In such events, the applicant cannot claim any compensation, damages, or seek legal remedies.
Background and Previous Assurances
This development comes after significant controversy last year when opposition MLAs raised alarms over the state government's decision to denotify 3.3 lakh square meters of the Tillari command area at Dhargalim. This denotification was intended to facilitate Delta Corp's plan to establish an integrated resort.
In response to these concerns, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured the legislative assembly that the Investment Promotion Board's approval for the project was not final. He emphasized that it remained subject to the approval of the Tillari Irrigation Development Board's Command Areas Development (CAD) committee. The recent WRD NOC represents a key step forward in this regulatory process, though it imposes stringent safeguards to protect public water interests.
