Centre sets Aug 19 deadline for Mahadayi tribunal final report
BELAGAVI: A day after the Supreme Court directed the Union Government to notify the final award of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT), the Centre has extended the time for the tribunal to submit its final report, to August 19 this year. The tribunal is to submit all its reports with regard to applications filed by Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra on the water-sharing issue.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had played down the Supreme Court directive by not reacting strongly, but opposition parties in that state had reacted sharply, taking on the government for not objecting to the petition filed by Karnataka in the apex court for gazette notification of the tribunal’s award.
Legal expert M B Zirli, who was part of Karnataka’s legal team in the Mahadayi case in the apex ourt, said, “Applications had been filed by the stakeholder states to get clarification regarding some paras in the final award of the tribunal. As per the new deadline, the tribunal is expected to clear all of them before it submits its further reports by August 19.”
A day after opposition leader in the Goa assembly, Digambar Kamat, called Thursday’s SC order on gazette notification of the tribunal award a Black Day in Goa, leaders of several opposition parties in Goa swamped the government, blaming it for failing to prevent the diversion of Mahadayi river, which they call the “lifeline of Goa” and “Mother Mahadayi”.
On Friday, opposition parties slammed the Goa government again and alleged that it had failed to protect interests of the people of Goa.Kamat said Karnataka and Maharashtra “played a game’’ with Goa on the Mahadayi issue. However, former BJP MP Narendra Savekar said at a press conference in Goa on Friday that the notification of the tribunal’s order was not at all a loss for Goa. The final hearing on Goa’s petition challenging the tribunal’s award was set to begin in July. “But the opposition is trying to mislead Goans by claiming that it is the state’s loss,” he added.
Goa AAP leader Valmiki Naik reportedly said that the government betrayed the cause of Goa by failing to protect its interests. Calling the SC’s directive a huge setback, former deputy chief minister Ramakrishna Dhavalikar said the diversion of Mahadayi waters will cause water scarcity in several areas of Goa like Assonora, and Khandepar.