Team Herald
PANJIM: The Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal, constituted in November 2010 for adjudicating dispute over river water sharing between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, was granted another six-month extension as it failed to resolve the issue despite being in operation for more than 14 years.
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“Central government hereby extends the period of submission of further report by the said Tribunal for a further period of six months with effect from 16th February 2025,” states a notification issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, New Delhi.
This is the seventh time, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has extended the tenure of the Tribunal after it had ended in August 2018. Initially the extension was granted for one-year except in August last year when the government extended its term for six months.
The Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal was established in November 2010 under section 4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, for the adjudication of the water disputes relating to the inter-State river Mhadei, and river valley thereof. The Tribunal was supposed to submit its verdict within a period of three years, from the date of its constitution, i.e. by November 15, 2013.
But the Tribunal requested the Union govt to reckon as August 21, 2013 the effective date of its functioning, to be the date of its constitution and the govt, vide notification dated November 13, 2014, notified that the effective date of constitution of the Tribunal be August 21, 2013, and the period of 3 yrs for submission of the report.
The Centre extended the period of submission of report on two occasions and the Tribunal finally gave its final verdict on August 14, 2018.
But following applications by the three States, the Central government made reference to the Tribunal to submit its further report within a period of one year with effect from August 20, 2018;
According to environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar, the Tribunal’s verdict was not well-received by the three riparian States prompting them to file petitions with the Supreme Court of India. The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court, awaiting a verdict.
Meanwhile, the Mhadei PRAWAH will hold its fourth meeting in Mumbai on March 4 where it is likely to discuss on the Goa government’s proposal for joint site inspection of the Kalasa Nallah project of Karnataka and also on the detailed project report (DPR) on the Virdi irrigation schemes of Maharashtra.
