Porvorim: Following criticism from the opposition benches for the delay in filing contempt petition in the Supreme Court on diversion of Mhadei water by Karnataka, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar clarified that the delay was “procedural” and the petition would be filed soon.
“We may have been delayed by a few days but we are on track and were moving ahead as per procedure,” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said replying to Curtorim MLA Reginald Lourenco who criticised the WRD minister on the subject.
Parrikar said the State had sought the advise of the Assistant Solicitor General A N S Nandkarni.
“We had to see which court we will have to go. Now after ASGs advise we are systematically moving ahead including contempt petition. We have already taken action,” he said. Parrikar said that the WRD minister must have given two days time but it was not possible.
“We are going as per advise and proper procedure has to be followed in such cases but now we have cleared proposal for filing petition,” he said. Water resources minister Vinod Palyekar had told the House on July 26, that the issue has been taken seriously and an application will be made before the tribunal immediately. Members questioned how the Karnataka government had managed to complete work on diverting the Mhadei so fast, that too, without people of the state noticing.
Palyekar said a team constituted for this purpose has been inspecting the area. “The blockades were functioning effectively as inspected by teams from Goa for the last four monsoons,” he said.
Two WRD teams visited the Kalsa site and observed that “waters from part of the catchment of the (Kalsa) nullah were being diverted through the conduit”, he said.
