Herald: Mhadei water dispute tribunal interim order rejecting Karnataka’s plea to divert 7 TMC of water from the river, has come as major victory for Goa. Since you have been fighting for over a decade now, how important is this order?
Kerkar: The interim order undoubtedly is a major victory for Goa but the battle is not over yet. Karnataka’s main petition to divert 56 TMC of water from Mhadei river, filed in 2006, is still pending. The State government will now have to be more focused on this petition, considering that the Water Tribunals always give more importance to water diversion. It is a major worry and hence, Goa will have to put up a strong case on the ecological front. If the tribunal term extends for a longer period, the issue could worsen.
Herald: Strong case on the ecological front… . Can you please elaborate?
Kerkar: The Mhadei wildlife sanctuary is within 231 metres of the proposed Kalsa bandura dam project by Karnataka. The sanctuary is a habitat for many wildlife and endemic species. Keeping Mhadei sanctuary as a base, a strong case can be put up, contending that the projects will lead to destruction of ecology, will leave many waterfalls and springs dry and will also have an effect on the Western Ghat hot spot.
Also, one important point to note is that the Karnataka government has violated Supreme Court directives. In 2002 the Apex Court had come out with a verdict that for any projects like dams to be constructed within 10 kms of the buffer zone, the clearance from Union Ministry for Environment and Forest (MoEF) is must. The same is been violated by Karnataka, and it is an important contention.
Herald: Government has urged Central government to direct Karnataka to maintain 10km buffer zone around its Mhadei and Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary. How far this demand is justifiable considering that Goa has kept only one kilometer buffer zone around its sanctuary?
Kerkar: See, when we have just one km area marked as eco-sensitive zone, we have no right to ask for 10 km to Karnataka. They will never agree for it, on the ground that Goa has only one km buffer zone. They might come to consensus to declare one to three kms area as buffer zone around the wildlife sanctuaries.
Herald: How you react to the Karnataka’s reaction post Tribunal interim order.
Kerkar: The farmers there are an innocent lot. They have been misguided by political and religious forces. Recently, the Hindu and Catholic priests have appealed to their respective communities to pray for diversion of water. But, one needs to understand, the prayers won’t sort such issue. Karnataka is destroying nearly 557 ha of forest cover for their project- three dams. This is something serious and the farmers there need to fight for it.
