TEAM HERALD
BELGAUM: With Lok Sabha elections around the corner, pressure is mounting in north Karnataka for immediate implementation of the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura water diversion project.
All the political parties, which have been harping on the issue since the last couple of years to wrest five Lok Sabha seats in the districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, Bagalkot and Dharwad, will now have to keep their fingers crossed till April 1 for the next hearing of the Supreme Court.
According to sources, based on the findings of the Mahadei Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT), the Supreme Court during its hearing on March 4 opined that Goa should not face any water scarcity due to implementation of this project and has taken a month’s time to study the findings and posted the next hearing on April 1.
Though based on this hearing Karnataka looks upbeat and is expected to present certain documents to nullify Goa’s claims, the fact that no forest clearance was sought before the commencement of the work project will be of great concern to the state.
It may be recalled that MWDT team headed by Justice J M Panchal had carried out the review of the project from December 18 to 22 last year. The team comprising Justice Vinay Mittal, P S Naryan and Union Water Resources Department officers M E Haq, S K Seraguppa, Jagadish Chandra and K N Kapur had submitted its findings to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, environmentalists in the region who have been opposing the project since its inception are of the opinion that thought the project may not hamper water supply to Goa, the project can be disastrous for the rich bio-diversity in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region.
It was learnt from sources that the greens too will be going to the Supreme Court against the project. A committee of the greens is also expected to be formed soon to fight the issue and save the ghats, sources said.
All the political parties, which have been harping on the issue since the last couple of years to wrest five Lok Sabha seats in the districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, Bagalkot and Dharwad, will now have to keep their fingers crossed till April 1 for the next hearing of the Supreme Court
