Team Herald
PORVORIM: The verdict in the Mhadei water dispute case is yet to be pronounced by the Tribunal but the State has already spent about Rs 16 cr on the case itself and Senior Counsel Adv Atmaram Nadkarni has been the major beneficiary.
The total expenditure incurred by Goa in the Mhadei water dispute with Karnataka and Maharashtra since 2011 till date is Rs 16,21,52,523, says a reply by Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar.
What is interesting is the Additional Solicitor General of India Atmaram Nadkarni, who is representing Goa in the case, has been paid a fee of a whopping Rs 5,93,28,500.
Earlier his Junior, and now Advocate General, Dattaprasad Lawande, has been paid a fees of Rs 75,10,000, while another lawyer Salvador Rebello has been paid Rs 20 lakh and Pankaj Vernekar has been paid Rs 31 lakh.
Chetan Pandit, a consultant and Goa’s witness, has been paid Rs 1.32 cr.
The State has also spent Rs 1.57 cr only on airfares, and transportation has accounted for Rs 1.06 cr. Despite the State having a Goa Niwas and Goa Sadan in Delhi, the government has spent Rs 44 lakh on accommodation, while the food charges have been Rs 35 lakh.
The Mhadei Tribunal started hearing the matter from September 6, onwards. So far, the tribunal has conducted 112 hearings and the final hearing was held on February 21, 2018. The award is expected to be pronounced by the tribunal on or before August 20, 2018.
