Team Herald
PANJIM: Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar has accused the State government of taking an easy and casual approach towards addressing the Mhadei River water issue.
His irritation came out after a meeting on Friday of the Mhadei Progressive River Authority for Welfare and Harmony (PRAWAH), where the government did not even bother to properly brief the new Secretary of the Water Resources Department (WRD) on the current status of the project. Kerkar, the secretary of the Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan (MBA), wondered if the government was on a holiday when it came to the issue.
“Secretary (WRD) Subhash Chandra was representing Goa in the PRAWAH. But recently he retired and Sarpreet Singh Gill has been appointed in his place. Since he is new, it was the moral responsibility of Goa government to brief the officer of the seriousness of the issue," said Kerkar, adding that the work at the Kalasa-Bhandura project by the Karnataka government was listed on the PRAWAH meeting agenda, but nothing concrete was discussed. Incidentally, Gill is out of station and did not attend, while Secretary (Civil Supplies) Sanjit Rodrigues, the link officer, was present at the meeting.
Congress, the State opposition party, also slammed the government on the absence of Gill at the meeting. “Is PRAWAH without any authority? Has the BJP government at the Centre compelled the BJP government in Goa to compromise on Mhadei? Their leaders in Delhi are eyeing every inch of land in Goa and want to convert the State into a concrete jungle. This is the reason the BJP government is reluctant to declare Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary a Tiger Reserve,” a Congress spokesperson alleged.
The PRAWAH meeting on Friday was attended by officials from Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra governments. Goa sought another site inspection in Karnataka, but the proposal was opposed by the neighbouring state. As a result of this, PRAWAH has decided to seek legal opinion in the matter. “PRAWAH Chairman (Navin Kumar) will write to the Central Water Commission (CWC) seeking legal opinion, which should take a month," said WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar.