Chief Minister Pramod Sawant tweeted last night that the Goa government delegation held meetings with Union Minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. The CM mentioned that the team put forth Goa's concerns regarding the Mhadei diversion and sought revocation of the detailed project report (DPR) approval for Karnataka, besides asking to expedite the constitution of the Water Management Authority.
The chief minister said there was a "positive" response from Shah, who is said to be "looking into the matter". There were no other details shared about the Delhi visit. However, Shekhawat gave another glimmer of hope with a tweet that said, "a solution to the issue will come out soon".
Goa needs to know the compromise formula, if there is one, and the "positivity" that the CM found in his discourse with Shah. For the record, the team has placed two pleas before the Centre ” one is seeking revocation of CWC approval to Karnataka's plan, and the second is the constitution of the water management authority. Goa's case rests on these two points. The question here is whether the Centre is in a position to accede to Goa's pleas or not. On the face of it, Shekhawat assurance appears to be a tricky attempt to buy time against the backdrop of simmering discontent in Goa.
The Goa scenario is being closely watched. The pressure is building up with sections of the opposition, activists and ordinary citizens joining hands to protest. If the Centre had a solution in mind, Shekhawat should have discussed the modalities with Sawant and the team during their Delhi visit. There cannot be a haze around decision-making, certainly not on such a critical issue.
Shekhawat's assurance is taken with a pinch of salt since he had dumped Sawant's letter of 2020 requesting the Central minister not to approve Karnataka's DPR without consulting Goa. Shekhawat did not find it necessary to even informally convey his thoughts to Sawant, leave alone a formal reply. This despite being reminded about the implications of water diversion on Goa and that the matter was before the Supreme Court.
The question before Goa is, "what's next"? How long would it take Shah's positivity to materialise into something concrete, or how long would Shekhawat take to unveil his "solution" on Mhadei? Goa does not have the luxury of time at this stage, given the frantic pace at which Karnataka is moving ahead with the project. There has to be a time-bound solution, and the onus is again on Sawant to follow up. Mere positivity from the Central leaders is not going to help Goa.
The CM must understand the urgency of the issue and the consequences it could have with a massive wave of protests building up in the background. The government cannot merely go through the motions and comply with the formalities of approaching the Centre; rather it should walk the talk of "going all out" to save Mhadei.
