Major relief for Goa; Karnataka told to plug both vents of canal wall
Maharashtra directed to constitute three-member monitoring team
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: In a major victory for Goa, the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal in New Delhi on Thursday directed the Karnataka government to ensure that there is no automatic diversion of water from Mhadei basin to the Malprabha river. Karnataka has been asked to plug both the vents of the canal wall, constructed at Kalsa-Bhandura and cover a section of the reach within the Mhadei basin canal with a brick masonry embankment by May 31, till further orders.
In an interim order passed Thursday morning, the tribunal has directed government of Maharashtra to constitute a three member monitoring team consisting of superintending engineers from Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra latest by April 30 to monitor the works done by Karnataka.
The order comes as a huge relief to the people living along seven talukas — Sattari, Bicholim, Ponda, Dharbandora, part of Sanguem, Bardez and Tiswadi– who are fully dependent on the water which form the Mandovi river downstream, for their survival. Karnataka plans to construct at least seven dams and three hydroelectric projects, by diverting the water to Malprabha.
Karnataka had started diverting the water from Mhadei river in 2006. The Union Ministry of Water Resources notified the Mhadei Water Dispute Act 1956 and referred the matter to the tribunal after the Goa government approached the Supreme Court.
“In order to ensure that water from Mhadei basin does not get automatically diverted to Malprabha basin through the inter-connecting canal, which has been partly constructed by the state of Karnataka, the Karnataka government is directed to plug both vents of the canal wall and cover section of the reach within Mhadei basin of the inter-connecting canal with a brick masonry embankment on or before May 31,” the order passed by Tribunal Chairman J M Panchal reads.
Karnataka is also directed to fill up the excavation made along the ridge line (the line separating the Mhadei and Malprabha basin) for the purpose of construction of canal, as per the agreed design and specification, to restore the ridge as existing, prior to the construction of the canal i.e. May 31.
Further, the tribunal has also asked Karnataka to complete the work of cross drainage for the existing roads and state highway along with the works of plugging to avoid likely flooding by May end.
The monitoring team has been asked to submit the progress report of the work by May 15 and final report on the completion of the work by the third week of June to the tribunal’s registrar.
Karnataka government is constructing a canal at Kalsa-Bhandura to divert the Haltar rivulet of Mhadei river to Malprabha river in Kankumbi. Karnataka presently plans to divert only 7.5 TMC water via Kalsa canal, but has more plans to divert rest of the water that may dry up the whole river Mandovi.
Goa covers 1580 sq kms of the catchment area of Mhadei basin while Karnataka covers only 375 sq kms. It also includes 76 sq kms of catchment area in Maharashtra.
