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BATTLE WON, WAR
LIES AHEAD: CM
* We have won the battle, but war lies ahead, says Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar
* CM congratulates Additional SG Atmaram Nadkarni for his study and research over the issue
* This is an important decision for the bright future of Goa, says the Chief Minister
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PROTESTS IN K'TAKA
* Several parts of north Karnataka like Dharwad and Belagavi among other places saw protests
* A few government offices came under attack from infuriated protesters after the tribunal verdict
* K'taka Rural Development Minister HK Patil said the interim order has disappointed Karnataka
* We will continue our legal and political struggle to get justice to the state, he said
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In a major relief to the State of Goa, the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal rejected Karnataka’s plea to divert 7 TMC of water from Mhadei to the Malaprabha basin. The Tribunal also rubbished Karnataka’s claim that water from Mhadei basin flows into the sea as wastage.
In its order, it stated that the flow of Mhadei water into the Arabian Sea irrespective of its uses, “cannot be considered to be wastage of water. The pleas of wastage of water may become relevant if surplus water is available. This tribunal has come to the conclusion that the State of Karnataka has failed to establish at this stage that the surplus water is available at the three points from which the water is sought to be transferred to Malaprabha basin if water available is 108.72 tmc at 75 % dependability in the basin. For this reason it is difficult for the Tribunal to accept the case of Karnataka that water goes into the sea as wastage.”
Calling it part of replenishing earth’s supply of freshwater through clouds and natural system, the tribunal refused to grant diversion of 7 TMC of water to Karnataka. It also noted that 14.32 tmc of water that Karnataka projected as surplus in the entire basin comprised of contributions to different parts of the basin.
“The contribution to the projected surplus water from catchments upto the proposed location for lifting of 7 TMC of water is relevant. The projection of surplus water in respect of whole basin will not be a correct indicator for planning diversion,” it said.
It also noted that the filling up of the Malaprabha basin and prayer now made also had nothing to do with the rainfall that State of Karnataka has submitted. Citing Section 3 of the drought declaration, the tribunal also stated that based on the Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI), it was relatively easy to calculate and give representations of measure of water availability across a river basin.
"It is however unlikely that it could be successfully used for large regions with significant spatial hydrological variability: the weights may differ substantially from one part of the region to another."
