Panjim: The Government has decided to constitute the Mahadayi Prawah or the Mhadei Water Management Authority to ensure fair distribution and prevent illegal diversion of the water. After Karnataka’s revised detailed project report (DPR) to divert water from Kalasaand Bhandura tributaries of the Mhadei got the nod in December, Goa had made a forceful demand to the Centre last month to withdraw the nod and urged to set up the water authority to closely monitor the use and the management of water in the Mhadei basin and sub-basin. The Centre’s decision comes four and a half years after the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal passed an order allotting water share to the riparian states—Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra that has been contested by all three—and had paved the way for setting up the authority.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant said one of the primary demands of the state has been met. “The establishment of the authority will help in preventing illegal diversion of water,” the chief minister said. Goa’s stand has been that Karnataka is creating an artificial shortage of water in its Hubballi and Dharwad regions to divert water from the state’s lifeline and biggest river Mhadei, which supports drinking water needs of 43% of Goa’s population.
Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who announced the cabinet decision via a tweet, said the authority would also “aid in building mutual trust & understanding among party states Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, thereby ensuring the right use of water resources of this region for its overall development”.
He also said it would enable the compliance and implementation of the award and decisions of the Mhadei tribunal. As per the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal order, the Mhadei Water Management Authority will supervise projects on the Mhadei by Karnataka and Maharashtra. The authority will also collect all water-related data and prepare a water resources profile of the basin and sub-basin with respect to various projects.
It will undertake investigations, research, study all aspects of environmental issues, including impact of climate change, and prepare short-term and long-term action plans to address it.
The authority will also prepare a comprehensive plan for sustainable development of water resources with active participation of Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, and monitor and regulate existing as well as future projects and schemes.
Goa had filed a contempt petition in June 2020 against Karnataka for carrying out constructions for diversion of Mhadei’s waters without any approvals. Goa is opposed to diversion of the water for outof-basin use, stating that this will cause a rise in salinity of the Mhadei’s waters and make it unusable in Goa.
A delegation from Goa, led by the CM, had met Union home minister Amit Shah and Shekhawat last month.
