The Water Resources Minister of Goa Vinod Palyekar, was saved of a major embarassment in his fledgling political career, by retracting his comments to journalists on the sidelines of a function that an out of court settlement between Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka, on the vexed Mhadei issue, would be “good”.
This statement, if it had not been retracted and a fresh one issued, stating that the state would stand firm and that there would be no compromise on the Mhadei issue, would have played into the hands of Maharashtra and specially Karnataka, which has completely been put on the back foot, at the National Water Disputes Tribunal. Karnataka’s only hope in getting something out of the dispute is to pitch for an out of court settlement. Goa under no circumstances should compromise and win the best deal for Goa and its people totally on merit.
The State government has earlier rejected Karnataka’s proposal to have an out of court settlement of Mhadei river water dispute. Former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar responded to the Karnataka Chief Minister’s proposal for an out of court settlement by clearly stating, “Since the matter is pending before the tribunal and the case is proceeding at a fast pace, it will not be appropriate to hold a dialogue on the issue to find an amicable solution outside the purview of the tribunal.”
Mr Parsekar has clearly blamed Karnataka, for the prolonged delay in the finalisation of the dispute by the tribunal. He wrote “The adjudication and award of the tribunal can be expedited if the contesting states cooperate with the proceedings and do not hamper regular hearings by filing interlocutory applications.”
Karnataka’s stand has been that the farmers of Dharwad, Belagavi districts in North Karnataka have been agitating for months seeking water from the Mhadei river.
Goa strongly feels that the series of protests and road blockades by people at Jamboti, Belgaum and neighbouring areas are nothing but Karnataka’s pressure tactics to misguide the central government about the crucial water diversion issue.
In Goa, the river Mhadei covers 1580 sq kms of the catchment area of Mhadei basin while in Karnataka it covers merely 375 sq kms. There are also another 76 sq kms of catchment area in Maharashtra.
Karnataka, wants to divert 7.56tmc feet of water by constructing nearly six dams, including the Kalasa-Bhandura canal, to meet the drinking water needs of Hubli-Dharwad cities. Under, the Kalasa-Bhandura Project, Karnataka wants to divert, the Kalasa, the Haltara, the Bhandura nallas, all important feeders to the Mhadei. In 2014 Karnataka applied to divert an additional 4tmc feet of water from other tributaries originating in Karnataka but later joining the Mhadei or the Mandovi, that would dry up the entire river. The construction of a canal to divert the Kalasa tributary from an eco-sensitive zone to Malaprabha basin is pending before the Tribunal since 2010.
Goa has strongly objected to all the diversion of Mhadei river waters, including the diversions of the Khandepar river. Goa has raised the subject of drinking water at Opa before the tribunal by even taking the tribunal to the Opa treatment site. The Khandepar river is a lifeline of the State as the water treatment plant is on the river at Opa, which supplies drinking water to Tiswadi and Ponda taluka and provides irrigational needs of around 10,000 hectares
Goa has also raised environmental and wildlife damages on account of the planned damming and diversion of the tributaries of the Mhadei. Goa, has made a strong case of the bio diversity of the western ghats getting affected on the account of water scarcity the State will face due to the diversion.
Therefore, this is the time when the stand of the government and its ministers has to consistent and unequivocal. The Karnataka’s witness in the tribunal hearings is faltering and Goa has been able to make its case stronger. On grounds, of fairness, fair play, history and ground level facts, there can only be one decision in favour of Goa, so that mother Mandovi can be protected.
