PANJIM: The 15-day deadline set by the State to get justice on Mhadei issue ended on Thursday, with no response coming forth from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). 

 MoEF&CC Minister Prakash Javdekar during his meeting in Goa on November 20 with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, representatives of political parties and environmentalists, had sought 15 days to come out with a decision on the Mhadei imbroglio. 

Post the meeting, Sawant had threatened to move the  NGT against the Ministry if it failed to withdraw within a fortnight, the consent letter granted to Karnataka's Kalsa-Banduri’s alleged drinking water project. Sawant had also said that he would support protesters and political parties on the issue if the Centre does not withdraw the October 17 letter, which permits Karnataka to go ahead with its Rs 840-crore project for diversion of water from the Mhadei river basin to Malaprabha basin. 

While the CM remained unavailable for comments, sources informed that the govt is yet to receive any communication from the Ministry but that the govt is firm on the decision that the letter given to Karnataka be withdrawn and that there won't be any compromise. 

The MoEF&CC letter to Karnataka informing that the project does not attract EIA notification; had led to wide-spread outrage, with opposition parties and environmentalists blaming the Centre and State for compromising Goa's interest in view of Karnataka’s by-elections, which incidentally were held on Thursday. 

Following the uproar, Sawant had led an all-party delegation to Javdekar on November 4. On November 19, Javdekar in a communication to the Chief Minister, informed about setting up a committee, which would study in detail the objections and concerns raised by the State.