PANJIM: Speaking for the first time after the verdict came out, Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar rubbished claims that Karnataka has been granted 13.42 TMC feet of water diversion by the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal. On the contrary, the minister claims Goa has got an enhanced share of water.
In an exclusive chat with Herald on the issue, Palyekar said that Goa earlier got just 9 TMC feet of water which has now been increased to 24 TMC feet. “Is this not victory?” he asked.
Besides, he continued, the tribunal has granted 8.02TMC to Karnataka for the hydel project, which again will flow down to Goa after power generation.
“So total share of Goa would be 24 TMC feet plus 8.02 TMC feet which is 32.02 TMC feet,” he said.
He added that a few
people are trying to misguide the Goans and create confusion.
“The State has always done its best for the Mhadei case. We have put our best efforts, the legal team led by senior counsel ANS Nadkarni has led from the front and we need to congratulate them instead of criticising,” he said.
Asked about his statement earlier that not a single drop of water would be allowed to be diverted, he said, “Well, that is what we fought for. In the end you have to accept that the basin is in Karnataka, the river flows from there and they are bound to get some benefit out of it.”
However, he added, “Our team has done a commendable job to get the award restricted to just 3.9 TMC feet.”
Palyekar also pointed out that Karnataka is unhappy and that there are reports it may move the Supreme Court. “This automatically means Goa has won. We do not need to prove it after this,” he stated.
The minister further said that the next step of the government is to strictly monitor whether Karnataka is following the conditions laid by the tribunal. “Even the 3.9 TMC what they have got they will have to adhere to strict conditions and we will monitor that. The authority will also be set up but we will maintain vigil,” he said.
