PANJIM: The much awaited special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Goa government on Mhadei water dispute could not come for hearing in Supreme Court on Wednesday and chances of it being heard on Thursday too appears dim.
The SLPs filed by the State and also petitions filed by two neighbouring Karnataka and Maharashtra could not be taken up due to time constraint.
Though it was mentioned in the cause list for two days, the chances of SLPs being heard on Thursday too seem bleak as the Apex Court is likely to rise early due to a scheduled programme in the afternoon.
According to information available, senior counsel Darius Khambata representing the Goa government was not present in the Court as he is indisposed while, senior Adv Venkatesh Dhond along with Advocate General Devidas Pangam and the entire legal team was present.
All the three riparian States have challenged the decision of the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) Award passed in August 2018. Besides this, the Goa government has filed a contempt petition against Karnataka for undertaking construction work at the disputed site without obtaining environmental clearances (ECs).
On July 10 this year, the Supreme Court had admitted SLP filed by the Goa government challenging the verdict of the Mhadei Tribunal granting Karnataka 13.42 tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water for its Kalasa-Bhandura drinking water-cum-irrigation project.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday reiterated that Goa’s case was strong before the Supreme Court and that the Karnataka government had not yet submitted documents.
“Goa’s case is 100 per cent strong before the Supreme Court in Mhadei matters. Karnataka has not yet submitted their other documents. Advocate General (Devidas Pangam) and the entire legal team is ready to strongly present Goa’s case before the Apex Court,” said Sawant.
