Team Herald
PANJIM: With just a month left for the term of the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT), involving Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra on the water diversion issue, to end, the Goa government has petitioned the Union government seeking an extension.
State Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar has written to Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati seeking the tribunal’s extension, as its terms is set to expire on August 21.
“The Mhadei tribunal case is going very strongly in favour of Goa and Karnataka is on the back foot. I have called upon the Union Minister to demand an extension of the tribunal,” Palyekar said.
“The government is committed to save mother Mhadei which is the lifeline of Goans. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure that Goa wins the battle,” he added. The term of the tribunal was extended by a year in July last year.
In July, 2002, Goa, had requested the tribunal’s constitution to adjudicate and decide on the water dispute. The issues mentioned in the request included assessment of available utilisable water resources in the basin and allocation of this water to the three basin States.
Recently, Karnataka had approached Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar with a request to call for a meeting between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra to resolve the issue amicably.
