Panaji: Units in Verna industrial estate (VIE) are demanding that the government should provide clarity on rates for raw water supplied to the estate in the wake of pending Rs 3.04 crore payment towards raw water arrears.
The Rs 3.04 crore payment arrears have been raised by the state water resources department (WRD) against the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) that manages all industrial estates in the state.
Unit owners at Verna industrial estate fear that the GIDC will recover the arrears from them during the trying times of pandemic when local industry is struggling for survival. The letter by the WRD on August 28 says that GIDC must pay the arrears within 10 days to avoid disconnection of water supply to units.
According to unit owners, the government has taken a U-turn on the issue of water charges to the estate since it had agreed to supply raw water at Rs 15 per cubic metre instead of Rs 25 per cubic metre charged by GIDC.
“It is really a pathetic state of affairs since the water issue is under three years of follow up and despite assurances given by two BJP Chief Ministers,” said unit owners.
Raw water charges is a festering issue for industries at Verna with the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar promising to supply water to the estate at the rate of Rs 10 per cubic metre. Subsequently at an industry function in June 2019, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had also assured water at Rs 10 per cubic metre to the estate.
However, in June 2020, units agreed to be charged Rs 15 per cubic metre after being asked to pay up more for the water supply. The decision to fix the water rate is still pending, said aggrieved unit owners.
According to VIE, “Industry will decide on alternate water arrangements through bore well or tankers if the proposal of fixing water charges at Rs 15 per cubic metre is not accepted by the government.”
The association said that the government cannot go back on its word and charge for water at Rs 25 per cubic metre rate as it had promised raw water supply at concessional rate. A dedicated water pipe from Davorlim to Verna was constructed for the purpose, said unit owners.
