Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar’s flip-flop on Mhadei comes as a severe blow to Goa. He has clarified that the letter of consent issued earlier has not been kept in abeyance. This betrayal comes at a time when the people of Goa were indeed beginning to believe Javadekar on his ‘promised’ good news. The debate is about this U-turn and a change in stance between December 18 and now. This time, it’s ‘good news’, Karnataka?
It was only a few days ago, December 18 to be precise, that a letter was issued by ministry official Mohit Saxena to Chief Engineer of Karnataka Netravati Nigam Limited freezing the consent, a facsimile of which was published in The Goan. Javadekar has been playing hide-and-seek since October 17 when the controversial consent letter was issued to Karnataka. Since then, it’s been a saga of false promises and a bizarre blame-game. Lest we forget, Javadekar had promised to come out with a favourable response within ten days and later blamed a junior-level officer for the issuance of letter.
The sensitive Mhadei issue is dealt with complete contempt of the people of Goa and the courts. The Union environment ministry continues to issue letters even though the matter is in the courts. The question to be asked now: Is the BJP leadership taking the people of Goa and its CM for granted?
If we are to believe there is some precondition to Javadekar’s current letter, there’s none. By any means, Karnataka has to wait till the award is notified and also must get all the necessary forest permissions. Javadekar is trying to do a fine balancing act looking at the issue through a political prism, but is failing to understand the water concerns of Goa.
There is no denying that the chief minister is in constant touch with Javadekar and the Delhi leadership on Mhadei. Goa governor Satya Pal Malik’s effort to broach the topic with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reflects a sense of urgency. However, the chief minister cannot bank on vague statements by Javadekar and convince his people back home. This is a very sensitive issue that can snowball into something which the BJP will find hard to negotiate in Goa.
Sawant instead of parroting Centre’s lines has to go beyond the talk and find enough reason to be convinced. Javadeker has also assured to form a committee to investigate the issuance of the consent letter. Can CM throw light on where the probe has reached? Sawant had threatened to take legal recourse if the letter is not withdrawn. Where does the State government stand now? Are we still waiting in hope?
There have been enough debates and discussions over Mhadei. Goa stands firm and united over this issue, and those who stand compromised on this cannot be spared.
