One of the first tasks that the government which assumes office after March 10 will have to take up is settling, to Goa’s benefit, the ongoing and protracted Mhadei water dispute. The latest salvo to come on this issue is that neighbouring Karnataka has issued an order for the implementation of a hydro power project using water from the disputed river’s basin. The Karnataka government has given its approval to the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited to go ahead with the Mahadayi Hydro Power Project, basing this on the final verdict of the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal, where it has been permitted to use 8.02 tmc of water from the river basin of the 13.42 allotted to it for power generation and the rest for consumption purposes.
The planned hydro power project is to come up at Chapoli village, Kotani nalla and environmentalists believe it will destroy the forest leading to negative effects on Goa. The expected repercussions of the project have to be listed out and the State has to react strongly to safeguard its interests. As of now the State Water Resources Department, that is aware of the development, has sought a clarification from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry on the approval for the project as the Mahadayi Tribunal Award has been challenged in the Supreme Court and as long as that challenge is not settled, Karnataka cannot undertake any work on the ground.
The Mahadayi Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) that had spearheaded the movement to save the waters of the Mhadei believes that the project can have devastating consequences on the State’s water supply and biodiversity and is upset at the soft stand taken by the government on the issue. The alertness levels of the government on the Mhadei need to be scaled up quite a few notches, as does the action that results from this. Goa has been very slow in responding to the Mhadei, and it has often acted only after the issue has been highlighted by the media or the environmentalists. Such an attitude will not settle the issue.
Since the hydro-electric project is still in the early stages, Goa has the opportunity to take it up on an urgent basis before any work on the ground even begins. There is, therefore, little time to be lost and Goa should do more than seek a clarification from the Centre on the permissions for the project.
Goa’s approach to the entire Mhadei issue has to change, with the State taking a stronger stand, being proactive and ensuring that its interests are not compromised. Goa’s stand on the issue, and rightly so, is that no water of the Mhadei can be diverted outside the basin. It cannot change and has to remain the same. The adamant stand may have resulted in talks failing, and the courts and tribunals approached for a solution, but this stance has to be rigidly defended, as any relaxation here could have major negative effects on the river water. The State has for too long battled to save the waters of the Mhadei and should not show a lax attitude now or in the future.
The government – it would have to be the one that will come after March 10 – has to also look beyond a legal solution and consider the possibility of finding a political answer to the issue. As the government maps out its strategy for the Mhadei, this can be one of the options it looks at. The current government has been unable to put forth Goa’s stand strongly and get a decision in its favour. The next government has to do better than the current one on this issue. The Mhadei is the lifeline of Goa and it cannot be ignored.
