PANJIM: After almost four years, the Supreme Court on Monday admitted a special leave petition (SLP) filed by Goa government challenging the decision of the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) granting Karnataka 13.42 tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water for its Kalasa-Bhandura drinking water cum irrigation project. The State had challenged the Tribunal Award, passed in August 2018, only in July 2019.
The Supreme Court has now posted the SLP for hearing from November 28 onwards. It has also directed the State to produce on record the order of the State Chief Wildlife Warden restraining Karnataka from undertaking any construction work of its proposed project without obtaining permission under Section 29 of the Wild Life Protection Act.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday took on Twitter to inform about the development.
“A great start to the week for Goa and Goans. In a major boost to Goa’s legal battle for River Mhadei, the Supreme Court of India, today, admitted the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by State of Goa challenging the award of the Mhadei tribunal. Supreme Court now fixes the matter for hearing from 28th November 2023,” he said.
“The Supreme Court also asks the order of Wildlife Warden to be produced before it. Also grants time to file additional evidence within 4 weeks,” Sawant added in a post on Twitter.
The State government had in July 2019 filed SLP challenging MWDT Award. In August 2018, the three-decade-old dispute between the three States over sharing of the Mhadei waters ended with the tribunal rejecting Karnataka’s demand for 36.5tmc ft, and allotted it only 13.4tmc ft, including 3.9 tmc ft for drinking purposes through diversions, against its demand for 7.5tmc ft. Maharashtra has been allotted 1.33 TMC.
Karnataka and Maharashtra too have approached the Supreme Court against the Tribunal Award.
Advocate General Devidas Pangam said, “After four years, Goa’s SLP is admitted by the Supreme Court. The Chief Wildlife Warden order, issued in March, will be placed before the Court.”
The Goa Chief Wildlife Warden had in January, this year, issued a show cause notice under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 directing Karnataka to stop any activity of diverting/stopping/ reducing the flow of the Kalasa Rivulet and Bandura Rivulet including the construction of any proposed dam, bandhara, canal or any other structure, project, which can be used for diversion of the flow of water from the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
In its reply to the notice, Karnataka failed to contend Goa’s charge of violation under Section 29 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 while arguing that there is no restriction on them in using its share of water from the Mhadei River as allotted by the MWDT.
In February this year, Goa approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the Central Water Commission’s approval to Karnataka’s DPR for the Kalasa-Bhandura river water diversion project. Goa sought a stay citing section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act, which disallows the diversion of waters from a wildlife sanctuary unless specifically for the benefit of the wildlife of that sanctuary.
The Goa government alleged that Karnataka has started illegally diverting water via a network of canals that were constructed despite an assurance given by Karnataka in 2017 that no further work would be carried out.