BELAGAVI: Opposition to the possible diversion of Mahadayi river water is building up stronger in Goa as a House Committee comprising MLAs of both the ruling and opposition parties in Goa demanded that the government appoint environmentalists of national repute to study the ill-effects of the project. At a House Committee meeting on Wednesday in Goa, the legislators also demanded that a report drawn up after the study by such environmentalists should be submitted to the Supreme Court to bolster the Mahadayi case in Goa’s favour.
Sources said quoting House Committee chairman Subhash Shirodkar that “the House Committee on the Mahadayi water diversion would appoint consultants and experts to submit reports on the ill effects of the project if executed by Karnataka within the next 20 days.”
Shirodkar, also Water Resources Minister of Goa, said his government had been fighting the Mahadayi battle at the administrative level. He said he also apprised Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat about the consequences of the diversion of Mahadayi waters. He said the project would affect the UNESCO-listed Western Ghats and also destroy six wildlife sanctuaries.