From Wednesday onwards, residents in Goa will start getting 16,000 litres of water per month for free, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.
In his address to the people of Goa, Sawant said the scheme was envisaged to ensure that people save water.
Sawant had announced launching the free water scheme during his Independence Day speech.
Under the 'Save Water to Get Free Water' scheme, we are providing 16,000 litres of water per month free for each of the consumers, the CM said.
He said all the Goans should participate in the campaign and ensure that their water consumption is within the limit.
Sawant said the consumers will not be charged metre rent or sewerage charges if their consumption is within the limit, eventually ending up paying nothing for the water.
The Chief Minister said 60 per cent of the consumers will be benefitted.
He also announced that small businesses will be transferred from the industrial to commercial segment for water billing, due to which, they also will be able to avail the benefit of this scheme.
Goa Public Works Department Minister Deepak Pauskar had last week said that around 1.5 lakh households in the state will benefit from this scheme.
He had said that out of 3.18 lakh water connections in Goa, 1.5 lakh are using up to 16,000 litres every month. Reservoirs in the state have enough water to cater to the entire population, Pauskar said.
Goa requires 600 million litres of water per day (MLD), according to the minister.