BELAGAVI: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has returned Karnataka’s proposal seeking wildlife clearance for the long-pending Kalsa-Bhanduri Drinking Water Supply Scheme in the Mahadayi river basin, stating that the matter cannot be processed until the Supreme Court decides the ongoing legal dispute between Karnataka and Goa.
In a letter, Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav informed Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar that the proposal has been sent back to the State Government because the issue is currently sub-judice before the Supreme Court.
Yadav was responding to Shivakumar’s letter dated December 23, 2025, requesting wildlife clearance for the project proposed near Khanapur taluk in Belagavi district.
According to the communication, the Karnataka government had filed an interlocutory application before the Supreme Court in October 2023 challenging the March 29, 2023 order of the Chief Wildlife Warden of Goa.
Since the matter remains pending before the apex court and involves issues that require resolution between the two states, the Centre has decided not to process the wildlife clearance proposal at this stage. Yadav clarified that the proposal would be reconsidered only after the Supreme Court issues directions on the matter.
Commenting on the development, senior Supreme Court advocate Mohan Katarki, Karnataka’s legal counsel in the apex court, said “It is surprising that Union Government is taking cognisance of the extra territorial order issued by Goa which is plainly contrary to its own published Award of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal. We will move the Supreme Court for clarification soon.”
Meanwhile, Goa Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar welcomed the Centre’s decision, describing it as a positive development for the state of Goa. “The Centre has told the Karnataka government that nothing can be done until the Supreme Court takes a decision. This is a good decision for us,” Shirodkar told a section of media.
The proposed project in the Mahadayi river basin has remained a contentious issue between Karnataka and Goa for years. While Karnataka maintains that the diversion is intended primarily to address drinking water shortages in the drought-prone districts of Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag, Goa has consistently opposed the project, arguing that any diversion of water from the Mahadayi basin would adversely affect the river’s ecology, biodiversity and downstream water availability.
The project received a boost in 2018 when the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal allocated a share of the river’s waters to Karnataka. The state subsequently prepared a detailed project report (DPR) and pursued the statutory environmental and forest approvals necessary for implementation.
Goa has continued its legal battle against the project, contending that it would impact ecologically sensitive forests and wildlife habitats in the Western Ghats, besides affecting the flow of the Mahadayi.