Officials claim most works complete
Works on construction of vents complete but refilling remains
Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar calls it a moral victory for Goa
Joint monitoring committee to inspect site on June 5
AG says if anything is not done, contempt notice will be sent
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: After immense pressure and amidst intense media scrutiny, Karnataka has managed to complete most of the works ordered by the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal, officials claim.
According to officials the work on construction of the vents was completed but some refilling remained.
“Both the vents are completed as of 6 pm. I and my engineer Gopinath Dessai went for an inspection, on Saturday. The cross drainage is complete, the refilling is also almost done,” Water Resources Department Executive Engineer S Patil told the media.
According to the officials, the joint monitoring committee will inspect the site on June 5 as the report is supposed to be submitted to the tribunal in the first week of June.
Advocate General Atmaram Deshpande told Herald, “According to my people, the work has been completed.
However, after the inspection, if anything is not done we will be sending a contempt notice.”
It may be recalled that the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal had set a deadline before the Karnataka Government to complete the work of plugging the canal, in order to prevent the diversion of water to Malaprabha. The order says that the vents had to be built, the refilling of the ridge had to be completed as well as building the cross drainage.
Accodring to reports, 27th May onwards the work was done on a war footing as media pressure mounted and the government took a firm stand to file a contempt notice.
Meanwhile, environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar said though Karnataka used delaying tactics in the initial stages it had completed the work and hence it is a “moral victory for Goa”.
