Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar’s decision to constitute a committee to study Goa’s case against Karnataka on Mhadei project is obnoxious and only goes to show that the Centre is not convinced. Javadekar is not new to the Mhadei issue, but yet it took him a fortnight to make a reference to the memorandum and decide on forming a committee, and that shows the hesitancy. Call it sheer reluctance or deft political manoeuvring, Javadekar’s announcement on the eve of his visit to Goa for the 50th International Film Festival inaugural comes as a huge blow to the State.
The key demand from Goa was that Union Ministry for Environment and Forests must withdraw its letter of consent immediately. And the Chief Minister, for all his knowledge on the Mhadei issue, joined the chorus and even threatened to take legal recourse. If we may quote the CM, he had officially written seeking immediate withdrawal of the “consent letter” while also assuring Goans that there is no question of compromises on the issue, for political or any other reasons. The Water Resources Department Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues too had exuded confidence and so did the all-party delegation that went to Delhi.
The Union Ministry for Environment and Forests has not considered Goa’s demand for withdrawal of consent letter, so what is Chief Minister Pramod Sawant happy about? Constitution of a team based on the memorandum submitted by the all-party delegation is absolutely no reason to cheer. In fact, it is time to think of the next course of action.
There is a very subtle trick in administration that is followed by political leaders in times of crisis where the issue at hand is forwarded to a committee for further study. It serves two purposes: One, it momentarily defuses tension, and two, it buys time for those at the helm of the issue. By opting to form a committee, Javadekar is only buying time to leverage his party’s political equation in Karnataka where 15 constituencies are going for bypolls on December 5.
If Goa’s concerns are being genuinely considered, Javadekar should have announced a timeframe and at least conceded to Goa’s demand for a joint site inspection of the Kalsa-Bhandura site to survey all the work carried out by Karnataka. Instead, he has played for time and gave false indications of positive outcomes.
Situations like these build a trust-deficit between people and their government. This is where a sense of betrayal creeps in and people take the onus on themselves to be guardians and saviours of their motherland. A committee studying the issue is only a way of calling time-out on the issue. The CM has to rise above politics and walk his talk.
