Team Herald
PANJIM: After declining to intervene in the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) order that rejected Karnataka plea to divert 7 tmc of water, the Supreme Court has now directed Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to submit a report on the environmental damage caused by the work of the Kalasa canal by Karnataka in Kankumbi.
The directions are issued in a petition filed by Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan of Goa (MBAG) in 2007.
The application came up for hearing last week amidst reports of resumption of work by Karnataka for the last several weeks, despite MWDT order to plug both the vents of Kalasa canal in 2015.
It may be recalled that the Apex Court had in 2009 asked MoEF not to allow Karnataka to continue the canal work without obtaining necessary environmental clearance (EC).
The court questioned as to how Karnataka went ahead with the work of the canal without obtaining the EC- the issue that was also raised during hearings before MWDT.
Speaking to Herald, MBAG member Rajendra Kerkar said that the petitioner brought to the notice of the Apex Court the violations committed by Karnataka and sought a direction to restrain Karnataka from proceeding with the continuation of the project in the eco-sensitive areas of Western Ghats without the approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and other related clearances from the MoEF.
“The Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary is within 231 metres of the proposed Kalasa Banduri dam project by Karnataka. The sanctuary is a habitat for many wildlife animals and even endemic species. The same thing we have to contend before tribunal that the projects will lead to destruction of ecology, will leave many waterfalls and springs dry and will also affect the Western Ghat hot spot,” he stated.
Kerkar recalled that MWDT has already rejected Karnataka plea for diverting 7tmc of water from the river for their Kalsa project.
