PANJIM: The State government has rejected Karnataka’s proposal to have an out of court settlement of Mhadei river water dispute between the two states and said the dispute should be resolved through the Water Disputes Tribunal.
In a letter addressed to his Karnataka counterpart, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said, “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.”
The Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah had written to Parsekar seeking an appointment to meet a delegation of ministers and opposition leaders from Karnataka to discuss and find an amicable solution to the dispute.
On the delay part, Parsekar indirectly blamed Karnataka. “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,” Pareskar said.
People especially farmers of Dharwad, Belagavi districts in North Karnataka have been agitating for months seeking water from the Mhadei river as the region has been hit by a severe drought this year.
The farmers are demanding either an out of the court settlement or an interim order from the tribunal as they feel the final settlement of the issue would take a long time.
This had forced Siddaramaiah to invite the Goa chief minister for a dialogue besides filing an application before the tribunal for an interim award.
Karnataka is seeking to draw 7.2 tmc ft of water from the Kalasa-Banduri streams, the tributaries of Mhadei river, and divert them to the Malaprabha river to quench the thirst of people of several towns and villages including Hubballi-Dharwad.
