Goa: Acting on Dona Paula locals' letter, HC orders water supply 3 hours/day

PANAJI: The high court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday directed the PWD to ensure potable water supply for at least three hours a day.
The high court took suo motu cognisance of the water shortage faced by residents of Dona Paula after residents of La Oceana colony wrote to the administrative judge stating that PWD's water supply to their area is only 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes a day. On some days, there's no supply at all, the residents said.
This letter was taken up as a suo motu PIL, and the court asked advocate Gaurish Agni to file a structured and formal petition within a week. The court said that while an affidavit in response may be filed within a reasonable time after the filing of the structured and formal petition, some interim direction shall have to be passed to minimise if not obliterate the woes of the people.
‘Water supply part of right to life under Art 21’
Since the right to supply of clean and hygienic drinking water is an integral facet of the right to a dignified life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the learned advocate general is requested to use his good offices to ensure that the residents not only of La Oceana colony trust, Dona Paula, but surrounding areas (too) are provided with adequate supply,” the court said. “The principal chief engineer, PWD, shall ensure that the residents of La Oceana colony trust and similarly situated citizens are assured of at least 3 hours of drinking water supply a day, which period can be split or staggered depending upon administrative and technical exigencies,” said Justice Rohit Deo.
The court also said that the extension of the grievance is that water pressure is extremely weak, and given the extremely short duration of the water supply, storage tanks do not get filled. “At this stage, it would not be necessary to delve deeper in the other grievances which are articulated, including the grievance that there appears to be cherry picking inasmuch as inexplicably, certain establishments and residential colonies do not face such problems,” the court said.