BICHOLIM: Stating that he never used the Mhadei issue for publicity, environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar on Sunday reiterated that the petition of Goa Forward Party (GFP) has indeed hampered the interest of the State.
Speaking to Herald from Rajasthan via phone, Kerkar said, “The GFP petition has worsened the matter and now they will have to prove that whatever the water they (Karnataka) are diverting is not for drinking purpose.”
Kerkar accused the then WRD Minister Vinod Palyekar of approving the deposition and expressed surprise as to how “he can now change his view.
“The then WRD Minister himself had approved the deposition, now it is surprising that he is going against it,” Kerkar said claiming it as “double standards”.
It may be recalled that GFP had earlier accused Kerkar of using Mhadei for getting ‘cheap publicity’ and had claimed that it was because of his deposition that the Mhadei issue got worsened.
“Throughout my life, I have never used the Mhadei issue for publicity purpose. The whole of Goa is aware that it was for saving the lifeline of Goa. I have worked hard and the movement was launched not for publicity but in the interest of the State,” Kerkar informed.
“The data used by me during my deposition was a time tested data, which was arrived after much discussion. It was used to protect the interest of the State and this was after deliberation and proper thought that we have used the data,” Kerkar said.
He informed that the data that he used was the outcome of the research done by the WRD Department. “With regards to the GFP petition, I have gone through it. Finally, the matter was disposed and whatever the petitioner had asked, the NGT has not considered it,” he added.
He warned that Karnataka can use this order and initiate the work of the project.
“Karnataka will create the atmosphere that they are building a drinking water project and the petitioner will have to prove to the NGT that whatever water they are diverting it is not for drinking purpose but for meeting the irrigational and hydro-electricity generation purpose. So the issue has now been complicated, which will hamper the interest of the State,” Kerkar explained.
