BELAGAVI: The Goa government has suffered a setback in the dispute over sharing of Mahadayi river water with Karnataka with members of the Progressive River Authority for Water and Harmony (PRAWAH) of the Union government not finding any violation by the latter with regard to the implementation of the Mahadayi project on its border at Kanakumbi.
A few days ago Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that an inspection of Kalasa-Banduri project sites on July 7 by PRAWAH members would expose illegal diversion of water to the Malaprabha river by Karnataka.
According to highly placed sources, PRAWAH members did not find any violation at the project sites as alleged by the Goa government, during their visit to Kanakumbi on Sunday.
A top source in the Karnataka government said, “No discussion on the alleged violation of the award pronounced by the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) took place at a meeting by PRAWAH members in Bengaluru on Monday. The Goa government is misleading people that the visit by PRAWAH members to Kankumbi on July 7 was to probe its charges of violations by Karnataka.’’
Engineers from Goa were with members of PRAWAH when they inspected the project sites at Kanakumbi.
Meanwhile, members of PRAWAH discussed several issues with regard to the Mahadayi project at a meeting held in Bengaluru on Monday. “The engineers from Goa were happy with the transparency maintained by the Karnataka government with regard to the implementation of Kalasa-Banduri project, under which it is expected to divert water from the Mahadayi river. Nothing illegal was found at the project sites,’’ a top source said.
The Karnataka government has adhered to all orders and directions of the court and the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT). Hence, the question of any kind of illegal work or diversion of water taking place at the project site will not arise, said government sources.
The meeting in Bengaluru also discussed the detailed project report (DPR) on the Virdi large and minor irrigation project of the Maharashtra government. The sources said officers from Karnataka were of the view that the project should not be taken up until the Maharashtra government received all approvals from the Union government.
The sources said the Goa government may be exploring ways to halt the diversion of Mahadayi water to Malaprabha, but the Karnataka government was committed to implementing the project effectively by getting all the hurdles cleared, including forest and wildlife permission, from the Centre in the next few months.