PANJIM: Taking serious cognizance of pressure tactics by the Karnataka government and other associations over the Kalasa-Bandura canal dispute, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Tuesday raised the Mhadei water dispute issue before the Western Zonal Council meeting chaired by Union Minister Rajnath Singh, urging that the matter be expedited.
Parsekar informed the Council that since the matter is pending before the Water Disputes Tribunal, there is no point in any discussion at this stage. “I have raised the issue before the Council requesting that the Mhadei matter before the tribunal be expedited,” he told media persons after the meeting, which is being held in Goa.
The Chief Minister said that unless the Tribunal delivers a verdict, there cannot be any compromise or talks between the states on the issue. “Let the Tribunal come out with its verdict and then we will see if there is need to sit and talk on the water sharing issue,” he added.
Parsekar has repeatedly turned down the Karnataka government proposal for out of court settlement on the issue. He even termed the September 26 Karnataka bandh, called by the farmers association a childish act, a pressure tactic to force settlement on the contentious issue of sharing the river water.
Karnataka MLAs had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter proposing a settlement, wherein he had agreed to take up the matter if all three parties – Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra – agreed over the water sharing.
The Tribunal to decide on sharing the waters of River Mhadei was set up by the Centre in 2009. Arguments are currently being heard and Goa has presented a very strong case before the Tribunal objecting to the diversion of water.
