PANAJI
Three days after it kicked up a storm, Water Resources Development (WRD) Minister Subhash Shirodkar termed as "unacceptable" the remarks made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the Mhadei dispute at a party rally in Belagavi area and rejected his (Shah's) claims that Goa government was taken along in the matter of Karnataka's plans to divert the river's waters.
Separately, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral also condemned Shah's comments on Mhadei and gave his boss in the State, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant a clean chit by saying that no consent was given by him for diversion of water by Karnataka.
Shirodkar, who was on a tour of Pernem where he inspected a few ongoing WRD works alongwith the local MLA, Jit Arolkar, told the media there that there was no consultation whatsoever as claimed by Shah.
"No talks were held with the Centre by Goa over permitting diversion of Mhadei by Karnataka. We do not accept the comment made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah," Shirodkar said while speaking on the sidelines of his visit to Pernem to inspect ongoing works there.
Shah had said at the rally that Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai had resolved the Mhadei dispute by taking 'our government in Goa' along to divert the water.
“We do not accept the comment because no such talks were held anywhere," Shirodkar said, adding that when the delegation led by Sawant met the Home Minister we were told that interests of both States will be protected.
Shirodkar also said that Goa's legal footing is strong in the Mhadei dispute matter and even if the Centre has given the nod to Karnataka's DPRs for the Kalasa-Bhandura projects it does not hold water as of now as several other statutory clearances are also needed.
"A lot many more permissions will have to be obtained by Karnataka for the Mhadei diversion projects," Shirodkar said.
Cabral who was addressing the media at the State Secretariat on Monday said he did not know what Shah was talking about when he claimed that the Goa government was taken into confidence on the Mhadei water dispute.
“CM has not given any consent to divert Mhadei river water. I know he will never do it. I don’t know what Home Minister Amit Shah is speaking about. We will talk to him the next time our delegation meets him,” Cabral said.
"I condemn the statement (by Shah). We are not against usage of water within the basin but we will never allow the water to be diverted outside,” he added in response to a query raised by journalists.
At the BJP’s ‘Jana Sankalp Yatra’ in Belagavi last Saturday, Shah had made the statement in which he claimed that the long-standing water dispute between the two States has been resolved as the ruling has allowed Mhadei water to Karnataka.
The statement created ripples in the State with the Opposition slamming the Goa government for conniving with the Centre and Karnataka to “sell Mhadei.”
Cabral said that the award given by Inter-State Water Dispute Tribunal on Mhadei was for the purpose of drinking water.
